A New Generation Of Heroes
by BirdsSpeedandArrows
Summary: It's been ten whole years since the old team separated. Dick Grayson, now Nightwing and leader of the Justice League decides to recreate the team and bring it back to it's former glory. With Wally West, the new Flash as his right hand man, join them and our new heroes as they go from a band of superpowered misfits to a team of great heroes. AU! DISCONTINUED.
1. Chapter One

The black and blue spandex clad hero walked through the cold hallways of the watchtower quietly, looking straight in front of him. A blank expression on his face, he made a few turns here and there. To any normal civilian or just anyone who hasn't been to the JLA headquarters about a hundred times would've gotten lost in the maze that is the watchtower, not to Dick Grayson a.k.a Nightwing. He's been visiting the watchtower since he was a tiny eight year old clad in traffic light colours! He knew the watchtower like the back of his hand, sure there have been a lot of changes over the years, modifications and all but the Watchtower was pretty much the same. Dick let a small smile appear on his face and continued walking towards the monitor room, he needed to see Wally.

When he arrived, sure enough the scarlet speedster was there. The Flash, the mighty protector of Central and Keystone City for what felt like decades, was asleep in the monitor room, right when he was supposed to be on monitor duty. Wally's head was resting between his two folded arms, some drool sliding down his chin and onto the clean, glass table, snoring quite loudly as well. Dick rolled his eyes at his best friend's actions, Wally never really changed now hadn't he? Usually hyper but when it came to 'boring' things like paperwork or monitor duty, Wally was out like a light. Dick walked over to him and tapped Wally's shoulder, when the red-head didn't stir, he tapped harder. Wally stirred a little but still wouldn't get up. Dick tried once again, still no response. The ebony-haired hero sighed once more. He took a deep breath and yelled loudly, wanting the speedster to hear.

"I got food!"

Wally jolted awake at that, the swift motion however, caused the chair he was sitting on to topple over, pulling him down with it. Reflexes took over of course, so in a quick red and yellow blur, Wally was standing straight and tall, arms crossed and his cowl-less face was in a deep frown. Glaring at his best-friend half-heartedly.

"You did that on purpose." He stated, he was sure as Hell not pouting, he was a man for crying out loud!

"Yep, I sure did. You should've seen the look on your face, dude. Here I thought you weren't clumsy anymore, Kid Klutz." Dick replied cheekily, a grin on his face matching his best-friend's once he heard his old nickname his friend had given him.

"You didn't even see my face, you dick. By the way, I'm not Kid Flash anymore dude. Just in case you've forgotten." Wally said, tugging at the yellow lightning bolt logo on his chest that once belonged to the legendary Barry Allen. It made Wally's heart swell when he looked at the symbol, he had been The Flash for nearly five years and he still hasn't gotten used to it. His small grin quickly disappeared into a sad smile, recalling memories with his Uncle Barry. It wasn't like Barry was dead or anything but ever since the 'incident' as they call it, Barry hadn't been the same. None of them have.

Dick, noticing his friend's mood change, decided to change the topic and lighten up the mood. "Well whatever happens you'll always be Kid Klutz and I'll always be Boy Blunder, right?"

Wally let out a laugh at that and placed his hand on Dick's shoulder. "Yea, you kinda got me there, Dickie-bird. So any reason why you aren't with your family or do you just miss me that much?" Dick snorted at that and his grin faded into his 'serious face'. "They're fine, Wally. It's just that, I actually needed to talk to you about something important." Wally nodded at that and placed his hand off of the younger man's shoulder. He gestured at two empty chairs near them and nodded at Dick to sit down. Dick obliged and Wally sat down as well. Looking at his best friend., who seemed tense and nervous. Unlike how he usually acted. Dick took a deep breath and looked at Wally straight in the eye.

"I was thinking of recreating the team. Recruiting new members and just starting all over again, and no I'm not talking about the league but I meant 'The Team'." Dick put emphasis on the last two words and Wally stared at him in total shock. He couldn't be hearing this, anything but this. He expected Dick to say something else, he was engaged, he was getting married, Hell confessing his undying love for Roy would've been better than this! Wally continued to stare at Dick, waiting for him to laugh in his face and exclaiming how he got him good and he was just kidding. But that never came.

The other man studied Wally's face and sighed, standing up and muttering something about 'knowing Wally would react this way'. Before he could reach the door however, wally snapped out from his shocked sate and zipped over in front of Dick. He let a small smile paint his face, similar to the one Dick was wearing earlier.

"Dude, I really don't think that's a good idea. But if that's what you want then its my duty as a League member and more importantly, your best bud to question your objectivity but end up following you anyways because even though you are a total idiot. You're a really smart idiot, and I'm gonna help you do this."

The twenty-five year old smiled at his best friend. "Now where do we begin?"

-To be Continued-


	2. Chapter Two

Chapter 2

Hi guys! First of all, I would like to give a massive thank you for all the OC Submissions. They were all really good and I had a hard time deciding who to pick. The SYOC itself is closed but I am still waiting for a few people to reply to my PMs so I could release the official cast list soon. Reminder that if you have not answered my questions, your character may not be accepted, no matter how detailed or good he or she chapter is a bit of a filler chapter and it introduces our first character, Sel(my own OC). Hope you guys enjoy this. I do NOT own anything except my OCs.

Dick- no Nightwing, he was in the uniform now, ran from rooftop to rooftop, adding in some fancy tucks and acrobatic twists in between his leaps. He felt the cold wind in his face and continued running. Dick loved these moments, where it was just him and nothing else, all the stress that he had to deal with was totally forgotten about once he was flipping and jumping around. It was like the weight of the world was lifted from his shoulders, he was able to fly once again. A free bird just soaring in the sky and doing whatever he pleased. Flipping and flying around without a single care in the world. It was quite refreshing actually, especially after a long day at Wayne Enterprises, him having to be there with Bruce since Tim was unavalible due to a mission somewhere, so for about five straight hours he had to sit there in an itchy suit and had listen to middle aged brats rant on and on about the stockmarkets and sales in their whiny voices. Dick was definitely a people-person, but he simply couldn't stand those board members who thought they were all that, well maybe except for Lucius, God bless that man. But seriously? How did Bruce deal with all of this for years? No wonder he's always so cranky.

He swooped down at a nearby alley and walked down the cobblestone path,humming a little tune as he did. Nightwing heard a loud clanking noise and turned his head back so fast he was afraid his neck would crack. Those thoughts were interrupted when three masked men came in sight, wealding some AK-47s and wearing some black ski masks and a lot of fake leather. They spotted him and started shooting blindly, he flipped away from the bullets without getting a single graze. He was pretty much used to being a human target, courtesy of dressing like one for about seven years. He dodged a few more and scurried to a nearby dumpster, he pressed his back against the cold steel and prepared some of his 'Wing-Dings', they were pretty much just like batarangs and birdarangs but in the shape and color of his Nightwing symbol. He waited for a few seconds for the men to shoot but all he heard was them talking amongst themselves in barely hushed but cautious at the same time, Nightwing peered his head out and saw the same three men's backs were turned and just caught up in the conversation, possibly argument.

"What're ya doin Mike? If we take down the blue-bird then the boss-man'll give us a huge promotion!" The shortest one of the group exclaimed in a thick accent Nightwing didn't recognize.

"Didn't anyone tell ya? The boss wants him down here, not sure why though, said it was somethin important. Anyways, he gave direct orders to weaken him and not kill him. Just a few wounds here and there, when we're done we'll drug him and bring him to head base." Said the one who was now identified as Mike explained.

Before the third one could open his mouth to argue, a different voice spoke up."You guys really suck at being henchmen, you know that? First, you didn't even wound your target and second, you announce your plans like that just out in the blue." The mean turned around and saw Nightwing there, leaning aginst the dumpster with a bored expression on his face-or at least the visible parts of his face, not hidden under the domino mask.

''Get him!" Mike commanded, his finger directed at the hero. The three charged at him and started shooting blindly. Nightwing however was prepared, he kicked the short one in the face with a well-aimed roundhouse kick and added a follow-up sidekick to his chest, the goon stumbled over an dropped his weapon, Nightwing did a front aeriel and hit him directly in the face, knocking him out. The other two charged at him on his right and on his left, the acrobat did a straddle jump that sent one of the men towards the brick wall and the other stumbling backwards and hitting his head on the dumpster, knocking him out of conciousness. Mike, who hit the brick wall was wheezing in pain, his gun long forgotten and he was holding his arms up pathetically to protect himself. Nightwing sighed and ran a hand through his messy, black hair, crouching down to be at eye-level with the sitting man.

"So, Mike was it? Yea, who are you working for and what does he want?" The ebony-haired hero debriefed.

"Oh come on, Dickie-bird. Do you really expect this pile of scum to tell you something? Are you really that naïve?" A familiar voice chirped from behind him. Dick knew this was coming so he simply turned away from the henchman and faced the owner of said familiar voice. "It's nice to see you too, Hood."

The Red Hood chuckled at that response and pulled his helmet off, revealing his black and white dyed hair and red domino mask. He tucked his helmet under his left arm and smirked slightly, facing his 'brother'. Dick did the same and looked at Jason face to face, which was now a bit weird considering Jason was a few inches taller than him now. Unlike how it was when Jason was still Robin.

The anti-hero sighed and murmured something under his breath that Dick couldn't comprehend. "What did you say?'' The older of the two asked,confused. Jason mumbled once more and it went unheard by Dick. Jason glared at him slightly and took a deep breath. "I'm going to have to bring you to my headbase. I sent Mike, Ricardo and Jonny to come and get you but they obviously failed, so I'm gonna take you there myself. I have something important to say to you and it can't be mentioned anywhere near here." Jason looked around him as he explained, seemingly paranoid and even a bit worried? Dick nodded and followed Jason to wherever his headbase is, a million thoughts in his head on what Jason would tell him. It was just…weird to see the Red Hood acting so paranoid and worried when he was usually so sly and prepared. It definitely spiked Dick's interest and concern.

Jason's headbase wasn't half bad. It was great actually, and far beyond Dick's expectations. Though the outside wasn't much but well hidden, the inside was great. It was well-lit, had red plush couches, a few houseplants and even a kitchen! It had about three bedrooms with bathrooms in them, a living room and even a small fishbowl with a goldfish swimming around happily, all Jason's weapons on display on the walls and ready to be taken out and used, there were a lot of guns, some knives an even some antiques used in great battles, the whole thing itself was tidy. Dick, though still confused by Jason's behavior was impressed.

"'I'd love to give you a tour of the whole thing soon, but now I have something that really needs to be taken care of." Jason remarked ,sarcasm dripping in his voice.

"Well if it really is so important then tell me now."Dick answered, with a smirk plastered on his face.

"Not here."Dick gave Jason a look and Jason rolled his green eyes under his own mask.''In the tech room." He lead Dick towards a black door with a keypad on the front, he typed out the code quickly and the door opened to reveal a dark room, the only light was provided from a few computer screens and holograms. The room wasn't too large, it was smaller than the kitchen. It was filled with tech for the most part, a few weapons that needed fixing, laying on a small table. There were white computer chairs in the room, which made Dick raise an eyebrow. Jason lived here alone right? The Outlaws had a separate base and Dick was positive Jason didn't have any guests staying over. Why would he need two chairs? Dick didn't say anything about it and walked inside with Jason in front of him.

As Jason was typing into a hologram, something that looked awfully like a secret government file, a loud crack sound echoed into the room, the twenty-five year old hero looked around the room and spotted a sharp throwing knife impaled to one of the smaller computer screens. A large crack forming around the snapped his attention to the origin of the blade, it clearly wasn't Jason, who seemed unbothered by the unknown weapon and who was just scrolling down a few files on one of the holo-computers with a bored expression on his face.

"Jason."Dick asked cautiously. "Is there some mini android in this room that just throws random weapons at your house guests or have I just gone insane?"

The ex-Robin chuckled and pointed his finger towards the left corner of the room, a large computer screen occupying the space. A quick flash of crimson red appeared behind the device and quickly disappeared as quick as it appeared. Jason scoffed at this . "Nice try kid, you can come out now."

Dick slowly approached the corner, his defenses up, but before he could do anything else a figure stepped out slowly. It was tiny, about four and a half feet tall, wearing a deep-red cloak and some black sneakers, at least that's what Dick could see. It slowly raised its head up, two hands covered with purple, fingerless gloves reached up and tugged off the hood, also unclipping the cape and revealing a young girl. She had dark-chestnut brown hair which was dyed with some blue and red at the tips, she was quite pale, domino mask-covered eyes at Dick curiously and he couldn't help but stare back at her attire. She had a white button-up blouse on, a silver pin with a 'R' was pinned to the collar, she wore a short black skirt with a red utility belt secured around her waist, black leggings under and on her feet were a pair of indigo colored sneaker-boots. This kid couldn't be more than ten years old! Dick took note that she also had a black holster with two heavy pistols on her back.

The kid crossed her arms over her chest and directed her attention to Jason, who was sitting comfortably in one of the chairs and resting his feet on the table, a smirk adorning his features when he saw Dick's expression of surprise and confusion. "Please don't tell me she's your partner."Dick said, hoping for one answer but expecting the complete opposite answer. The other man didn't respond, but his smirk said it all. It was an obvious yes.

"Well, I was supposed to tell you but I think you've figured that out for yourself." Yep, Dick was sure Jason was enjoying this very much.

"I'm right here, guys." The kid announced, raising her right hand.

"Alright, Dickie-bird meet my new protégé, Selastine. Also known as 'Little Red'." Jason grinned. "Selastine, you know Dickhead Grayson, a.k.a Nightwing.''He added in.

"You told her my secret ID?" It was more than a statement than a question though.

"He didn't tell me. I figured it out myself, your mask barely hides your face, you make no effort to hide your abilities in acrobatics and let's not forget your butt. I mean, who else would have an ass like that? Richard John Grayson." The kid-Selastine, interrupted, the smirk on her face looking like a carbon-copy of Jason's. "It's just Sel by the way."

Dick promptly flushed at that comment and turned his gaze to his 'brother'. "So it's true? The newspaper articles and the stolen shots? The Red Hood really does have a partner?"

"Yes, but that's not the only thing I need to tell you." Jason confessed. "I'm going on a mission with the Outlaws, it'll take long, about months. We're busting a whole organization, some fucker is going around with his army of genetically-enhanced goons, it's underground, deep in the criminal world. They want attention, and they'd do anything to get it. They're killing orphans and a bunch of college girls. It's brutal and risky."

"Okay then, why are you telling me this then? You never tell anyone about your plans." Dick stated.

"I need you to watch the kid. The whole thing will take up most of my time. I won't have time to train her or take care of her. I didn't really have anyone else to call. You know how to take care of kids." Jason spoke, avoiding Dick's gaze and even flushed slightly, at least Dick noticed.

"Well in that case, why can't I just come with you?" Sel retorted.

"You can't, it's risky and I don't want you getting hurt. Besides, I have Roy and Kor'i with me. It'll be unnecessary if you were there." Jason countered, looking down at his protégé.

Sel hid the disappointed and hurt expression on her face. It didn't go unnoticed by both men though. Dick tried to reach over to place a comforting hand on her shoulder but Jason stopped him ,shaking his head.

"Dick, would you do it? It's just that I can't bring her along with me. She's a great fighter but it's too risky. Just take care of her, just until I'm done with the mission." Jason asked, masked eyes looking at Dick nervously.

Dick glanced at Jason with a knowing look, he knew Jason had a soft-spot, he just needed the right push, it was heartwarming to see that even The Red Hood, the powerful anti-hero was protective and concerned about his protégé . "Yes, the league doesn't have to know of her presence, I'll even train her if you want."

The anti-hero's face went serious. "Make sure the league isn't aware of her existence. If anything happens to my partner, you'll be held responsible, Golden-Boy."

Jason's glare had no effect on him. "Sure thing. Now has she packed yet? Cause my place is pretty messy and I have to clean up." Dick grinned. Sel raised an eyebrow at that while Jason turned to go and get Sel's backpack from her room. When he was out from ear-shot, Dick took a look at Sel, she was staring at the door from where Jason left, playing with a piece of her dyed hair. He took this as a chance to talk to the kid, he will be her 'guardian' for a while after all. He kneeled down to her height and gave her a small smile, "I'm Dick Grayson. But you obviously already knew that but I like to start things fresh."

That earned him a small laugh. Sel offered her hand for him to shake, "I'm Sel, age twelve, partner to the Red Hood, 'Little Red'. But I suppose you already knew that." She told him. Huh, she had some spunk.

"Just so you know, I've never killed anyone before. You don't have to be paranoid about me going into your room at night and killing you." She half-joked, though she sounded genuine when she said she hasn't killed. It was sweet actually, her personality really did have an effect on Jason, and maybe it was for the better.

Yea, maybe staying with this kid for a while won't be so bad.

-To be Continued-

So I hoped you guys liked that. Sorry if the characters are a bit OOC. The next chapter I will be posting the official cast list so be sure to answer the questions I have sent you (if you received them). Thank you for all those who submitted (again). I am planning for there to be 10 characters. (Possibly 5 boys and 5 girls, but the number of members might go up later on.) I'm no longer accepting new heroes but if you are interested, you may send me ideas for teenage villains or just some normal villains (through PM only please) Please keep in mind that this fic is AU and a lot of differences are present (The League, ages of the characters, etc.) Thank you and bye : )


	3. Chapter Three

So here is the long awaited third chapter. Now let me explain myself, I've decided to write an individual chapter introducing each character instead of posting a cast list (because that's much more fun right?) So now let's meet our second character, who was submitted by zackattack1. I really hope you enjoy! I'm sorry for the late update but knowing that you guys actually like this story and have waited patiently for it, really motivates me to update. So without further ado, here it is.

Dick waited patently as Sel ate, he had just finished with his dinner and Sel was just about to finish. With one last bite of her turkey, she wiped her mouth with a white napkin and took a quick sip of water. It'd just been a few days since Jason left Sel in his care and he thought he was doing a good job. He and the young soon-to-be antihero had some great conversations, well if you considered talking about Jason, the Red Hood himself singing country songs in front of his bathroom mirror with only a towel wrapped around his waist and Sel recording it on camera a great conversation then yeah, they did.

"So, are you going on patrol tonight?" Sel asked, already picking her plate up and walking towards the dish washer. "Why the sudden curiosity?" The young-man quirked his eyebrow. He already knew why, the kid was feeling lonely and bored out of her mind, it's not like she had any school work to do or any friends to talk to so all she did was watch old reruns of crappy TV shows she didn't know and lounge around all day waiting for her 'mentor', which would take a while. She wanted to go on patrol, not necessarily with him but she wanted to go outside and breathe the not so fresh air the city of Bludhaven offered. Dick trained her yesterday, a few flips and techniques but not anything too complicated. Despite that, the brunette was still bored and opted for some action.

Sel shrugged at Dick's question and walked back to her room, technically Dick's guest room and shut the door, yelling 'thanks for the food' in a muffled voice. Dick sighed, Sel was usually open and sarcastic, now she was just quiet and tired. As much as Jason wouldn't admit it, Sel was attached to him, Sel wouldn't admit it either but Dick knew, those two were so much alike it made his heart melt

Dick was snapped out from his thoughts when he heard the unmistakable sound of police sirens. With a quick change into his Nightwing costume, he soared out into the night sky, trying to figure out what all the chaos was about. Nightwing, who was perched on one of the building tops spotted multiple police cars and even ambulances driving to what looked like one of the many apartment buildings in Bludhaven, problem is, said building was on fire. Black smoke, angry flames everywhere, it was a mess. Dick quickly ran across the rooftops, not bothering to add some fancy flips in between. This was an emergency, acrobatics could wait until later.

When he arrived, most police officers and firefighters were too busy handling the citizens and whatnot to notice him. The hero entered the burning building yhrough a broken window on what used to be the second floor, when he heard what sounded like a child crying he picked up his pace.

The place looked like an absolute mess, things scattered on the floor and dark smoke filled the rooms, from the corner of his eye he saw a small boy-about six or seven years old was curled up in a ball, sobbing into his arms and wailing for his mommy.

"Kid!" That got the boy's attention, he snapped his head up and looked at the hero with teary green eyes. "Nightwing?" He sniffled, wiping his nose with his sleeve. Nightwing nodded and reached out to the boy carefully, not wanting to frighten the child any more than he already was. Once the boy was safe in his arms, Nightwing took off, cursing under his breath as he dodged a flaming piece of wood. The kid sobbed in his arms and gripped on him as hard as he could. The ebony-haired hero started coughing violently once the smell of smoke hot his nose. Shit. All of a sudden, just right when he was supposed to jump out of the window he had came from, he felt cold air, and what felt like ice? He didn't have any time to think about it though, after a few seconds, he felt the green-eyed kid being pulled away out of his arms gently and he blacked out. Not having time to hit himself in the head for being so stupid and leaving his 'bat gas mask' at his apartment.

When the hero awoke, he felt dizzy, his vision was slightly blurred and he was freezing cold. He groaned when he felt his head pound miserably but stopped in his tracks once he realized where he was. He was laying in a bed, a comfortable one at that and he was out of his Nightwing costume, wearing a t-shirt of some band that he didn't know and some basketball shorts. He felt his face and sighed in relief when he felt his mask was still in place. He checked himself for any injuries and only found a few first-degree burns and a few scratches. Dick slightly panicked despite not having any major injuries and the room he was currently in looked relatively normal, it looked like a normal teenage boy's room, movie and sports posters on the walls, a shelf full of CDs and DVDs, and a television. Dick ran a hand through his messy hair and already started to figure out where he was and how in the world he was gonna get out of here. Just when he got up, the door opened with a slight creak, he quickly jumped into an alert stance, his defenses and reflexes sharp.

"Woah, I don't want any trouble. I know you're a little freaked out right now but calm down." A voice spoke up from the door. Dick looked up and saw a teenage boy, about seventeen or eighteen wearing a dark blue tanktop, matching blue jeans and a navy jacket, Dick could see that he also had a gold watch on his wrist and wearing a pair of black and blue tennis shoes. The teen had brown hair and brown eyes, had an athletic build and not much shorter than he was. "Listen, after you got the kid from the burning building you kinda blacked out. I overheard some of the police officers saying something about poisonous gas fumes that were released during the fire, you're lucky to be okay. The kid and his family are safe by the way." The brunet explained, walking towards the twenty-five year old and sitting on the edge of his own bed.

Dick blinked at him. He made a quick mental note to do a little research about the poisonous gas fumes once he was done here, but first, he needed some answers. "How did I get here then?" Was the first thing that came out of his mouth. 'Smart Grayson, real smart.' Dick scoffed to himself.

"Well you see, when you passed out, I may or may not have froze the fires to keep the building from falling apart completely. Sammy- the kid that you saw is safe with his parents.I brought you to my place since it looked like the gas took a heavy toll on you and not anyone else." The brown-eyed boy explained, Dick on the other hand was even more confused. "I'm Zack Calvin by the way, just call me Calvin." The teen-Calvin added, offering his hand to Dick. Dick shook it reluctantly, a million questions flooding his mind. Calvin however, beat him to the punch.

"I guess you're confused right now. Well, I have ice-powers, it's kinda weird actually. As a kid, I always wanted to be kinda like a superhero. And when I saw you, Nightwing, the protector of Bludhaven and new leader of the Justice League there in the building I was pleasantly surprised. Not as surprised when I first realized I had powers but I was still surprised." Calvin shrugged.

The older man took a moment to process what Calvin had said. Ice powers, saving a family from burning building, bringing him to his house. Okay, today was definitely not his day."Well, thanks for everything. I really appreciate it, do your parents know I'm here?"

Calvin shrugged at that and mumbled 'yeah' under his breath while he pulled out Dick's Nightwing costume seemingly out of nowhere. He handed the whole thing minus the utility belt and his eskrima sticks. The protector of Bludhaven raised his eyebrow,not that it was visible because of his mask but Calvin pointed at his desk where his utility belt and sticks were. The former acrobat quickly collected his things and Calvin pointed to a door, the bathroom obviously and Dick quickly changed in there, checking his belt in case something was missing or misplaced. He sighed in relief when he saw that nothing was out of the order. Nightwing went inside the bathroom and changed quickly, also fixing his messy hair with his hands to avoid it falling into his masked-covered eyes. Once he was done, he stepped out, leaving him and the young teenager in a somewhat awkward silence.

"So, what're you gonna do now?" Calvin asked, breaking the silence.

Nightwing wore his signature smirk that kind of made Calvin step back a little. "I've got a few ideas up my sleeve."

After a discussion regarding secret identities, personal lives, the danger of being a hero and some other things. Nightwing being Nightwing had to muster up a long speech about 'respnsibilties' and 'not losing yourself in the process'. Calvin listened carefully, being sure to take down mental notes on 'being a good leader' and things like that. Once that was done, they both parted ways. Calvin trusting the hero with his address, much to the older man's surprise. As Dick left, he smiled to himself as he ran across the rooftops once more. Huh, this could actually work. He just needed to call Wally.

Maybe bringing back the team with brand new members would actually work.

-To Be Continued-

So that's about it. Hope it wasn't too crappy. Anyways, I'll be introducing these characters one by one (or in a group, who knows?) and I really hope you guys don't hate me for not setting up an official cast list. Well, my finals are coming up and I won't make any promises but I will try to update at least once or twice a week. Thanks for all the support so far. -BirdsSpeedandArrows


	4. Chapter Four

Hi. BirdsSpeedandArrows here. It's been quite long since I last updated so here is a brand new chapter, and it actually features Wally! So here we meet yet another character submitted by my great friend (you know who you are). So I hope you guys enjoy and don't forget to review (it really motivates me to write and update more). I don't own anything except my OCs (same with your OCs, I'll always mention who submitted these OCs.) So let's go!

Chapter Four

Wally West was a man of many things, scientist, red-head, an idiot (or at least his peers say) but most importantly a hero, not just any hero but The Flash, the one and only hero of Central and Keystone City. He's the kind of guy that likes surprises, he appreciates the thrill, he loves surprise parties and such. So yeah, he likes surprises, but he was one-hundred percent sure that he didn't like this surprise. Yep, Dakota sure knew how to surprise him in the worst ways possible.

What was going on exactly? Well apparently, Wally's 'friend' and colleague, Dakota decided that Wally West, out of all the seven billion people living in this Earth, be the one to babysit her child, Shyler. What kind of name was 'Shyler' anyways? He wasn't one to judge names, he was named 'Wallace' for crying out loud! But seriously, who names their kid Shyler? Instead of spending his day protecting and helping Central and Keystone, he had to play nanny with the kid of his colleague. He and Dakota weren't the best of friends (because Dick was obviously his best friend) they were more like good friends who had a few inside jokes and speak in fluent sarcasm when with one another. It was amusing and sorta fun, but Wally wasn't quite sure as to why he had to babysit random child, that at was all.

"Remind me again, why I agreed to do this?" Wally demanded, Dakota rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Because you owe me, West. Besides, it's not like Shyler will give you any trouble. He's already thirteen &amp; you're here to watch my cat not him." She reminded him.

Hearing about watching her cat made Wally perk up a little, it was good that Dakota wasn't making him change any diapers or feed an infant. He just had to watch a teenager that lived in his bedroom and some Siamese cat named Zara. Nothing to worry about while Dakota had been assigned to go on an assignment to Markovia or something. Wally cursed at her silently for not just hiring a cat sitter. Although Wally was annoyed with Dakota most of the time, the woman was a single mother and she did mention something about Shyler staying locked up in his room 24/7 and hardly speaking to him. It was like she hoped Wally's upbeat, wisecracker personality may break through her child's cold and distant attitude.

"West, I'm about to leave now. Got any questions before I go?" The slightly older woman asked, her luggage in tow and her purse in her hand. Wally shook his head and muttered a 'I'll be fine' under his breath and dropped his backpack on the plush couch. Wally liked kids, he really did, it was just that he didn't want to stay with a mini clone of Dakota Coaster, the thought sent a shiver up his spine. Dakota was already so much of a narcissist, he seriously didn't need a hormonal teenage boy version of her. Though from the sound of it, Shyler didn't seem half-bad.

"Ma, you're leaving already?" A voice spoke up from behind Wally. The twenty-eight year old whirled his head around to the origin of the voice. Standing behind him was Dakota's kid, Shyler. The boy was a bit skinny, had an average height and was wearing a red beanie over his black hair, Wally observed that the boy had a shimmery silver streak in his hair that was obviously dyed. He was wearing a gray tank-top with a red flannel tied around his waist, black skinny jeans and a pair of ratty-old Converse. The thing that really caught Wally's attention was the teen's eyes, his left eye was a coffee-brown color and his right iris was a dark blue shade. The boy had an unsure expression on his face when he took a look at Wally and he was shifting awkwardly from side to side. Huh, turns out Shyler was actually shy, Wally thought.

Dakota's face softened and she gestured for Shyler to come over, the teen walked to her silently, his gaze on the carpeted floor until he was near his mom. The brown-eyed woman placed a kiss on her son's forehead. "Be good, kiddo." She chastised and walked out the door, sending one last glance at Wally and another at Shyler before shutting it behind her. Shyler kept his eyes locked on the white door for a few moments before Wally cleared his throat, already feeling the awkward tension grow when he was already trying to ease it. The usually talkative speedster was now at a loss for words. He just didn't know how to warm up to this kid.

"So Shyler, what do you wanna do?" Wally asked. The young teen shrugged at the question, avoided Wally's gaze and shoved both of his hands in his pockets and stalked to a room which Wally guessed was his bedroom, he went inside and made sure to lock the door. The green-eyed man gaped at the now closed door. What in the world has he gotten himslef in to? Well, might as well make the best out of the situation, the man switched on the TV and sat down on the couch comfortably. He helped himslef to some old reruns of Doctor Who for a few hours before feeling his eyes go heavy and eventually falling asleep.

When he awoke, Shyler was sitting across him on the black armchair with a bored expression on his face, the thirteen year old was holding two bowls with spoons in them. He walked over to Wally and dropped the warm bowl into his lap, it was quite a miracle when none of the contents spilled out. "You snore a lot, you know that?" Shyler asked, plopping back into his chair and switching on his cellphone.

Wally stared at the kid in surprise. He was quite taken aback, he was supposed to be taking care of him while his mom was gone and the kid just happened to make chicken-noodle soup for dinner. Yep, Wally was the best babysitter on the planet.

They sat in stoic silence for a while before Shyler jolted up from his seat and would have scared the living shit out of Wally if it weren't for his ultra fast reflexes ans senses. The red head still looked up at the teen in surprise. A 'wtf?' expression on his face.

"Shyler, did the chair electrocute you or something?" The green eyed man demanded.

"You can stop acting clueless now." Shyler well, sneered at him. "Stop acting like you don't have anything to hide. I already know your secret." The silver-dyed haired teen continued in a voice that could only be identified as a hiss.

Now Wally was more confused than ever, he scratched the back of his neck sheepishly and opened his mouth to reply, instantly regretting the words that flew out of his mouth once he started to speak. "And what secret is this then?"

The thirteen year old glared at him before responding in a low voice, barely above a whisper. "Wallace West, you are The Flash. Not the first, but the second one. Predecessor to the legendary Barry Allen. And just so you know, that's not the only secret I know. Because believe me, I know all your secrets."

At that, Wally's heart skipped a beat while time stopped ticking.

-To Be Continued-

Author's note: Cliffhanger! So anyways, I apologize for the lack of updates. But I swear I'll try to make it up to you. Thank you for all the support. Oh and a bit of a spoiler but I don't think I will be introducing someone in the next chapter (just saying). That's all, and don't forget to review because reviews make me happy.


	5. Chapter Five

**Hey dudes! Another chapter for you all. The OC was submitted by the really supportive AsgardianGrizzly (but seriously, you're like one of the nicest people I've ever met) so this chapter is dedicated to you. Also big thanks to MissMarniMac (who recently left this site and deleted her account but who I still adore and talk to) who helped me with this and gave me so many wonderful ideas. I don't own anything except my OCs. Hope you all enjoy it**.

Chapter Five

Central City General Hospital:

The sound of a heart monitor beeping was the only noise in the whole brightly lit room. Dakota was waiting impatiently, her foot tapping against the floor while Shyler was typing furiously into his cellphone. Dakota rolled her eyes at his antics and took a sip of her coffee, she winced at the awful taste, way too bitter for her taste. She sighed and turned her attention to the small TV screen that the hospital room had. She had to take her mind off things, might as well need a distraction.

When Wally awoke (which was getting quite weird at how much he'd been sleeping lately) his eyes burned a bit at the bright light. He really was sure he was still at Dakota's apartment. Hell, everything was blurry, the last thing he remembered was talking to Shyler and then he felt his heart skip a beat. He didn't freaking know he fainted! He looked around and could tell by the machines and the heart monitor on the side he was definitely in a hospital room. What the Hell happened? Suddenly, he felt a wave of hard coughs come out from his body and did a double take. He hasn't been sick in a while.

Dakota hearing him got up quickly and practically ran towards the hospital bed. "West!" She exclaimed, her hands up in the air. What on Earth happened to you? I was at the airport sorting things out when out of nowhere Shyler calls me saying that you blacked out and he called a hospital. It's a good thing the fight was delayed and rescheduled this weekend, otherwise I would be dead and so will you." The brown eyed woman ranted, her hands on her hips and some strands of her hair falling in front of her face.

"Dakota, I don't even know what happened to me." Wally tried to explain but the woman was having none of it.

"No excuses, West. I trusted you to look after my kid and my cat. But you being the dumbass that you are nearly got yourself killed, don't consider yourself lucky because I'll be sure the next time around, you'll have to face my wrath. She snapped, already dragging her son by the wrist to leave, he wiggled out of her strong grip and allowed her to exit the room first. The woman slamming the door slightly.

"Has anyone ever told you that your mom reminds them of Satan?" The red-head asked Shyler. Already sinking back to his pillow and giving half his attention to the sitcom playing on the screen.

"No. Don't worry about her though, it'll take about 3 cups of Yorkshire tea, a few chick flicks, a new pair of earrings and three and a half hours for her to calm down."

"Really?" Wally asked incredulously. "In that case, I know what to get her for Christmas." He joked lamely.

Shyler rolled his eyes and sighed when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He unlocked it and murmured a string of swear words under his breath when he read the message. "I've gotta go. Get well soon I guess, Mom already brought all your suitcase here so you're good to go. But if I were you, I'd have the doctors check those marks on your arm, they look terrible." Shyler told him before exiting the room.

Wally took his advice and glanced at his left arm. His eyes widening in slight shock when he saw the 'marks' on his arm. There were angry red scars slashing vertically starting from near his wrist to wear his biceps were. It was as if there was a wild animal with razor sharp claws decideded to play with it. The cuts weren't too deep but enough to raise questions. What. The. Actual. Hell? Well, Wally definitely knew he was going to wear long-sleeved tops to work for the next few weeks.

-BREAKLINE.-

Nightwing's Safe House, just outside Star City:

Daniel Fret, or Dan as he likes to be called followed Nightwing as he walked through the hallways at what seemed to be his 'headquarters'. The place itself was a supposedly abandoned warehouse that was well-hidden just on the outside of Star City and filled with all sorts of weapons and tech that Dan was sure had the Military beat. Nightwing led him to a room with a simple table and a few chairs. "Make yourself comfortable." Was all Nightwing said before disappearing into a room and coming back seconds later with two water bottles in hand.

"Is this like your headquarters or something? Do you take the bus from Star City to get to Bludhaven every night? Cause you sure as Hell don't look like you can fly." Dan spoke up, sarcasm dripping in his voice.

Nightwing ignored the bitter tone and sarcasm and answered with a small smile."Nah, it's just one of my many safe houses have around." He tossed one water bottle to the teen and it was caught easily.

"Why exactly am I here? Better yet, why the Hell am I out of jail?" Dan inquired, his fists tightening slightly.

"Aren't you happy that you're out of jail?" Nightwing asked.

"No, because I just love spending every single day of the rest of my teenage life behind metal bars, fed shitty food and sharing everything I have with people I hate." Dan spat sarcastically. Nightwing nearly rolled his eyes under his mask but stopped himself. This teen was stubborn, Nightwing noted inside his head, he wouldn't just say 'yes' to anything without some heavy persuasion. He pretty much spoke sarcasm almost all the time. It'd be tough to break through the kid, but it wasn't impossible.

"Listen here kid, there are millions of criminals around the world. The amount of people trying to stop them aren't even a third of that million. The world is changing fast, those millions of criminals couln d double, even triple. There would be chaos everywhere, gunshots will be fired, fires will burn each one of us one by one til we're all ash. Now if I could try to make one kid change his life for the better, get him out of prison and help him restart his life then I would do anything to help that kid." Nightwing told him, looking straight into his eyes with his mask leaving a piercing gaze.

Dan on the other hand was quiet, thinking about it. The black haired hero watched in surprise as Dan sighed."Yes." He answered under his breath hesitantly. What're you gonna have me do? Volunteer at a homeless shelter?" He asked.

"Actually, I have something...more challenging than volunteer work. I'm not sure how you'll react to it but I can guarantee it's much more of a challenge than whatever you're thinking." Nightwing informed the brown haired, green eyed seventeen year old.

"What? You gonna make me use my powers or something?" The teen half-heartedly asked. "I can change my skin to stone and get rock-hard skin and strength. There's really not much to me."

"You're more than that Dan." The older man interjected. "This is gonna sound really cheesy but you are. You just need to find yourself, do what makes you happy."

"Yeah yeah, I know the drill. You're gonna try to sit me down and tell me about love,happiness,hope and all that bullshit. I'm used to it by now, ." Dan rolled his green eyes.

"Trust me Dan, you're in for a surprise." Nightwing answered him, his tone drained of all the sentimentality and kindness from earlier and replaced with a stoic one which made Dan want to back up a bit. He decided against it though.

"So, when do we begin?"

-BREAKLINE-

Unknown Location:

Shyler casually strolled into the room, hearing the door lock behind him automatically and walking behind the older blonde haired-girl, who was sitting comfortably on her 'throne', her legs perched on the arm rests.

"Is there a good reason you're late or have you just been moping about something again?" The eighteen year old girl asked calmly, not even sparing a glance at the younger boy.

"Alissa, things are complicated, okay? I can't just leave all the time otherwise my mom would get suspicious. What? Do you think this is a 24/7 thing for me? In case you haven't noticed, I have other priorities as well."

Alissa scoffed at him. "You're a speedster Shyler, you can zip through those 'priorities' without breaking a sweat. Look, I don't give a single fuck about anything you're doing outside of this. But I swear to all the gods if you mess up in the middle of something important I'll split the very ground you're standing on and make sure you never get back up. Am I clear?" She spat, she was out of her 'throne' so she was now looking down at him with her piercing gaze.

"Crystal." Shyler replied, cursing at how much it sucked to have the girl with the shortest temper known to man on his ass all the time and how her having the ability to control earth and even cause earthquakes didn't help at all. Yep, Shyler really hated his life.

At that moment, Alissa stomped out of the room, her heeled combat boots clicking loudly against the floor. Once the doors closed behind her, Shyler zipped around the room, he always ran when he felt stressed out or angry, he didn't know why but it helped. After a few rounds, he stopped when he heard the doors slide open, instead of Alissa however, three different teens entered the room, two girls and one boy. Shyler recognized the boy immediately.

"Nice to see you again." The teen began, his voice sounding genuine. "It's been quite a while since I last saw you." He sat on the metal throne where Alissa was a few minutes ago, making himself comfortable.

Shyler sent a look in the auburn haired boy's direction. "Oh really now?" He said dryly.

One of the girls spoke up. "So, you're Skylar right? The speedster Alissa won't stop talking about? If I didn't know any better I'd say she has a crush on you. Turns out, she just thinks you have skill and precision. Kudos to you for that."

"It's Shyler." The thirteen year old corrected. The girl he was talking to looked like a fish out of water. She was dressed in a navy sweater-vest, a dark blue skirt that reached her knee, white socks with plain black shoes on her feet and her dark blonde hair in two braids. Not to mention, she wore a pair of violet thick rimmed glasses on her face. Shyler's attention however was drawn to what was in her hand, it looked like a holographic remote control in the shape of a spider. His eyes turned to the 5 silver robotic spiders crawling on the floor and on the walls. The girl must be a tech-genius then.

"Pleasure." She replied, her voice lacking the sarcasm Shyler had been expecting. "Nikole LeBlanc." She introduced herself.

"Oh this is nice." The boy commented. "We're having an introduction party. The name's Wren by the way." He gestured towards himself. The sixteen year old wore a long black trench coat with a high collar. The fabric closing in front of his body, only showing his black combat boots and his domino-mask covered face. His dark red hair sticking up in every direction.

"Amy, it's your turn. Introduce yourself." Wren winked. The brunette girl blushed at all the attention suddenly on her and she tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear. The bright eyed girl was wearing a lavender colored cloak that reached her waist with the hood down. She was wearing a bright blue leotard with a matching mini skirt that ended mid thigh. She was wearing matching blue shoes and looked to be-levitating 3 feet above the ground.

"It's Amy." She said simply, her cheeks darkening to a rosy pink. "My real name is Amethyst Hexx." She added, Shyler's eyes widened at what she said.

"You're Amethyst Hexx?" He repeated in disbelief. "Amethyst Hexx is a legend in witchcraft and magic. Also an expert shape shifter, and the last time I checked was about a hundred years old but never looked or acted like it." Shyler crossed his arms and locked his eyes on the girl. If he was being honest, he would say that she was...pretty. Shyler isn't one for romance and crap but he was an honest guy (most of the time), he could tell 'Amy' looked like a young top model, with her baby-blue eyes, curves at the right places and not to mention her chest and behind. (He noted how Wren stared at them and how he was practically drooling).

Just before 'Amy' could open her mouth to reply, Nikole interrupted. "And how would you know this 'Amethyst Hexx' is legit or not?"

'Amy' turned to Nikole, her feet now planted firmly on the ground. "Nik, that's quite disappointing. You are a genius, correct? I was quite surprised you haven't figured it out sooner." She took a deep breath and looked at Shyler, the 'shy girl' persona completely gone. "You're correct. Amethyst Hexx is all of those things." She walked forward, her and Shyler nearly equal at height. She leaned towards his ear and whispered. "And so much more than what you think." 'Amy' then shape shifted, Shyler's mouth hung open slightly when he found himself staring at-himself. 'Amy' shape shifted into him.

"What're you staring at?" 'Amy' snapped in a perfect imitation of Shyler's voice. 'She' laughed before turning back into her 'original' form and pretty much strutted towards Wren.

"So, do you still think I'm hot despite now knowing I'm hundreds of years old?" She teased Wren in an amused voice, trailing her finger on his jawline.

"I can live with an age difference, age is just a number right?" He countered. Pulling her by the wrist, down to sit on his lap, he was still sitting in the 'throne' comfortably. Amy looked surprised at first but relaxed once she realized what he was doing, Wren was flirting with her. He constantly did this, sending her compliments all the time, using 'smooth' pickup lines and so many more. Though, pulling her down to his lap was new, she relaxed in his hold and rested her head on his chest, earning a smile from the boy. 'Oh only if he knew'. Amy thought.

"I'm not one to say these things but I think that's one of the weirdest yet most adorable things I've seen in my life." Nikole commented. Shyler just stared in silence, he'd been reading and researching on Amethyst Hexx for quite some time now. It was just weird seeing them in the flesh. He wondered if Wren realized that Amethyst Hexx was known to be a trickster and an emotional manipulator. Also, Amethyst was born male not female and his most famous form being a 20 something year old male. Shyler could just imagine Wren's reaction once he found out.

"Good all of you are here." A female voice spoke up which made most of the occupants in the room jump. It was Alissa, how she managed to get inside without anyone noticing, Shyler couldn't tell. "Let's get things over with. Shyler, Nikole will update you on what's going on. Amy, go across the hall and call the twins. Wren, stop staring at Amy and do what you're supposed to do." Alissa recited without even sparing a glace at any of them.

All-well most of them since Wren was still grumbling about something under his breath, did what they're supposed to do. Everything ended up going smoothly. Thank the gods for that.

Little did the teens know, a dark figure was stalking them from the deepest shadows of the location. Their cold eyes calculating and their weapons in tact. They let a ghost of a smirk appear on their face, their full face mask covering all their emotions whatsoever. They spoke into their communicator, which was a simple ear piece.

"Yes master, I've found my target. I will be sure to complete the task."

-To Be Continued.-

**Wow. Longest chapter I've written so far. What do you think? What's going on with Shyler? What's he doing? Tell me what you think in the reviews. It really makes my day when I see a review. Anyways, once finals are over I'll be sure to post more chapters. **


	6. Chapter Six

** Sup? BirsdsSpeedandArrows here! Let me start this by telling you all that I absolutely adored all your reviews and support, I really appreciate it. It took me quite a long time to decide who should be on the team because all the characters I have received are great. Characters were submitted by Runnow11 and MysteryAgain, so without further ado, let's begin!**

Chapter Six

Watchtower:

"So, how's the arm doing?" Dick asked Wally casually as he scanned a few files. Wally looked up at him in surprise, not knowing that his best friend already knew. Dick of course rolled his eyes at that, he was a bat. What did Wally expect?

"Dude! Did you hack into the hospital's files or something?" Wally yelped, cursing when he felt a stinging pain in his arm. Shit. It'd been two weeks and it still hurt like Hell.

"Or something." Was all Dick said before opening one particular file he had been waiting to show the red-head for quite some time. "Look here." He opened the holographic file, watching his best friend's uncovered face twist with confusion.

"Okay. All I see are a bunch of teenagers. You sure you opened the right file?" The green eyed man told him.

"Not just any kids, dude. Look closer."

Dick pressed the 'play' button on both videos and watched as the speedster leaned forward and his eyes widened to the size of plates. "Are those..."

"Yep. I don't know about you but I think we just found potential recruits."

"Dude, how do you even get these videos? Does Bats have cameras planted at every corner of every city in America? You guys see everything!" Wally demanded while Dick simply shrugged and closed the file.

"Dude, only the important things."

"So a bunch of kids who wear costumes and can stand their ground against a group of grown men in dark allies your business now?"

"It's always been my business. If you don't remember, I was the first kid who wore a costume and could stand my ground against a group of grown men. Besides, any meta-human or vigilante in Gotham or near Gotham is Bat business." Dick told him, feeling a triumphant smirk make its way on his face when he saw Wally deflate, the speedster didn't quite have a good comeback to that.

"You win this round, bat-brat but mark my words, I will seek revenge." The freckled man huffed childishly.

"You've been saying that for seventeen years, bro. It's honestly quite sad how an intelligent, science-loving eleven year old speedster couldn't think of a good comeback when a tiny eight year old teased him." Dick countered. "Face it Wall-man, my comebacks are just that wonderful."

"Whatever you say, boy-wonderful." Wally said in a sing-song voice.

"Right back at you, Twinkle Toes."

They both laughed at that. Despite being best friends for seventeen years both men had never grown tired of each othet'so company and witty banter. It was always as if the presence of the other was enough to make them smile and feel comfortable.

"Hey, Wally." Dick spoke up when they were done laughing. Having seemed to catch their breaths and regain their composure.

"Yeah,dude?"

"Can you be honest with me?" The black haired man asked, his tone laced with hesitation.

"Sure." Wally told him, expecting the worst. Whenever his best friend was hesitant or looked hesitant is wasn't a good sign. Dick was...well, a Bat and was trained to never show the smallest hint of emotion, but Wally could read him like an open book. He knew when he felt upset, tired or unsure, this was one of those times. Wally swallowed the lump in his throat that he didn't know was there before sending a silent gesture for his friend to continue.

"Do you really think is bringing back the team is a good thing?" The ebony said seriously, all the emotion in his face gone. Tension filled the room as Wally thought about it longingly. The more he thought about it, it seemed as if the number of cons doubled the pros. Was this really the right thing to do? Weaponizing a bunch of teenagers and turn them into their own pawns in the game of 'heroes and villains'? Putting their lives at risk all because a group of grown adults in spandex wanted little versions of themselves running around?

"Dick, I'm not really sure how to answer that." Wally rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Honestly."

The speedster stayed quiet, shifting awkwardly from one foot to another. What was he supposed to say? The red-head was a 'go with the flow' type of guy, he wasn't the type to overthink every situation. But now, he could feel Dick's blue eyes piercing into his soul behind his domino mask and gazing at him like a kicked puppy.

"I'll give you some time if you need to think about it,dude. Anyways, I have to go. It's getting pretty late." And like that, the former Robin was gone just like that. Wally stood there with his mouth hung open so wide he was worried he was gonna catch flies. What just happened?

At that moment, Kyle Rayner a.k.a Green Lantern walked in, an eyebrow raised behind his green mask when he saw the state of the red-headed speedster.

"I'm not even going to ask." Kyle said before turning around and walking out of the room.

-BREAKLINE-

**_Bludhaven_**

Little Red Riding Hood or simply 'Little Red' sat on the ledge of the building, her boot-covered feet dangling on the ledge. The brunette's hood was up so only the bottom half of her face was visible. Absolutely nothing criminal related was going on tonight and the twelve year old was BORED. She craved for some action, anything that could keep her on her toes or at least mildly entertain her but nothing was happening.

"Hello? Any violent criminals or at least a common thug, here?" She called, it seemed incredibly stupid to be calling for someone to get up and snatch her just like that but she couldn't help it. When she was staying with Jason, they would always bust some criminal's ass almost every night and if she was lucky, she would get ice-cream afterwards. The thought made her stomach churn, it had been nearly a month since she had last seen her mentor and it made her worry. Did anything happen to Jason? Was he okay? What about Roy and Kor'i? What did they do to help him? She gulped as very bad scenarios started playing in her head.

"Hey, what're you doing up here, kid?" Nightwing's vouce interrupted her train of terrible thoughts and worst case scenarios as he flipped on the building top. Not seeming the slightest bit of angry that she was out but more of worried about her.

"Huh? Oh I was just sitting around. Maybe getting some fresh air while I'm at it." Little Red-no crap it was Sel now nearly stuttered. She swore at herself, why did she let herself lose her composure like that? Little Red was supposed to be cool, smooth and calm. Sel on the other hand was a childish little girl. They were two different people! As much as she had gotten used to having Dick around, she wouldn't let herself show how she missed Jason. But damn, she knew that the acrobat was fully aware of this and how stressed out he was getting because of her. Good job Selastine! You really did it this time! She thought to herself.

Nightwing paused at her behavior but didn't comment on it, instead, he chose to sat down on the ledge beside her and they sat in a somewhat awkward silence before he spoke up. "It's really weird isn't it? How kids change over the years? I know this sounds really cliché and all but when I was a kid, things were much different back then."

Sel, though she was wearing the costume let out a small smile at that, at least the former Robin knew he sounded weird, she'd give him that. "Nah it's fine, we all need some cliché in our lives from time to time. It makes things much more fun. Though, I'm not exactly getting your point as to why you think kids have changed so much. You're like in your early twenties, you're not old at all."

"It's just that teenagers are more mature than what the society views them to be. You guys are capable of so many things and yet, many adults put you guys down because they have this image drilled in their head that teens are out of control party-animals. The truth is, the kids of today know what they're worth, they are confident and know what they can do. It's amazing, actually." Nightwing told her, his voice sincere as he had small flashbacks of himself as a teen, having sleepovers at the Cave, eating junk food and laughing with The Team.

Sel blinked, she knew that Dick was sentimental and mushy but from the tone in his voice he sounded...sad. Not sad like failed your finals sad, but the kind of sadness you would get when you would remicise old memories with old friends you don't even see anymore, knowing that somewhere along the line, something pushed you in different directions. That in Sel's opinion, was the worst kind of sadness.

"What exactly are you trying to tell me?" The hooded preteen asked slowly.

"You're a smart kid, you can figure that out all on your own." Was all he said before he stood up. "Tell you what, if you're really itching for some action I'll let you come with me for the rest of my patrol. How does that sound?"

Sel lightened up at that. "Of course! Now only if there was actually something to do that'd be fantastic."

Nightwing chuckled in response. "It's Bludhaven. There's always something going on. Now hurry, if we finish early, we could watch The Big Bang Theory."

"Cool. Race you to City Hall." The masked girl chirped before hopping off the ledge of the building with her pink grapple gun in her hand. Nightwing smiled at her antics. So much like him when he was her age.

-BREAKLINE-

After an hour, they were able to stop a fairly-sized drug trade near the outskirts of the city. They were patrolling the North of Bludhaven, perched on some gargoyles when a loud grunt was heard from a nearby building, followed by what seemed like more grunts and groans of pain.

"Should we check it out?" Little Red asked.

"Yep." Nightwing replied before flipping off the gargoyle, leaving the twelve year old to gape at him as he did a quadruple and laughed.

"Show off." She scoffed before leaping off as well.

When they arrived, the sight that greeted them made both heroes (well more like hero and somewhat anti-hero) blink. There were four grown men dressed in trench coats circled around a young girl dressed in black and green clothing, goggles on her face and two short swords in her hands. The blonde girl was fighting them off quite well with her long daggers while the men were armed with basic knives.

"Follow me. Don't let them see you." Instructed Nightwing as he gripped on Little Red's wrist and guided her behind a water tank. They crouched down and practically blended into the shadows as they watched the girl. Eventually, Little Red got bored, seeing that they were more than a hundred feet radius from the girl and the men so she couldn't see much of it anyways.

"What're we doing here? No offense but watching a teenage girl with daggers isn't as interesting as you think. And shouldn't you be helping her instead of stalking her?" The hooded girl crossed her arms and looked up to see his reaction.

"So far, she seems she can stand her ground. But there's some strange energy signal around the girl and I need to find out what's going on." The black-haired man told her.

The Red Hood's partner raised an eyebrow at that. "How can you tell? Did Batman install a device in your brain that detects anything meta-human?"

"Not in my brain, but in my mask actually." He answered before turning his attention back to the girl.

It was obvious that she was starting to get overwhelmed. Her technique was getting slightly sloppy and the men were starting to get some hits on her. She struggled out of their grip and in a fury, took her goggles off. Green energy blasted from her eyes and knocked the men out like it was nothing. Nightwing shut his eyes quickly and yelled at the twelve year old at his side to do the same, she followed and they both pressed their backs against the water tank which was starting to crack at some parts.

They waited until the blasts were gone before Nightwing stepped out hesitantly. The girl from earlier was still standing in her place, the men she was fighting earlier all knocked out around her. The teen looked about fifteen or sixteen, was a little on the short side and was thin. She looked drained but had a triumphant grin on her face. Little Red was standing next to Nightwing already, her arms crossed and her face blank as she looked up at the slightly older girl.

Nightwing smiled to himself as Little Red took the initiative to 'debrief ' the teenager. Maybe, just maybe, she'd be great for the team. He just found another potential recruit.

-BREAKLINE-

Dick's Apartment:

"Well that was crazy." Remarked Sel as she ripped her domino mask off and plopped down on the couch.

"You're telling me. At least Ever Green wasn't as snappy as the other kids I've met." Dick told her as he stepped out of his bathroom in a pair of dark sweats and a t-shirt, his Nightwing costume gone.

Sel rolled her eyes at that. "Please don't call her that. Green sounds so much better."

"Hey, Ever Green isn't a bad name. Not my fault a lot of people like having a color in their secret identities, including you." He replied cheekily as Sel untied her sneaker boots and removed her red cloak.

"Whatever, Bluebird. At least I don't have a family of vigilantes named after birds and bats. I'm gonna take a shower. See ya."

When the girl was out of the room, Dick turned on his holo-computer and skimmed through his saved files. His eyes trailed on some stolen shots he had gathered and narrowed his eyes at one particular picture. He chewed on his bottom lip gently as he zoomed in and tried to get a better look at the figure.

He hadn't known how long he was sitting there til' he felt a tap on his shoulder, he looked up to see Sel looking at him strangely, dressed in a superman t-shirt and black pajama pants. "You okay? Is there something bothering you?"

"Nothing. Everything's fine." He lied through his teeth, ignoring the look Sel sent his way and closing the picture quickly.

The brunette girl took a look at his holo-computer and pointed at a small icon on the right side of the screen. "Open this."

Dick looked at her, confused. "What? Why?"

"Just do it. I need to see something." She answered.

The acrobat opened it reluctantly and his eyes widened slightly when he noticed a few modifications were made to the file. "Did you do this?" He asked, glancing at the small girl.

Sel simply nodded. "I did some research of my own and added it to your file. If you didn't know, I can hack too."

"Sel, you can't just do that to people. It's an invasion of their privacy." The blue-eyed man lectured.

"Yeah, sure. I've learned my lesson." Sel waved him off boredly. "Dude, have you even read your file? If you're planning on making your 'team' good, then I suggest you recruit this girl. I mean she's extremely intelligent, gifted in tech and crap plus, she has these little droids following her around! How badass is that?"

"You've been doing your research on this girl." Dick replied, a smirk on his face as he saw how Sel was getting excited.

"IIeana is more than just a girl, Dick! She could be an asset to your team." Argued Sel, her arms crossed and her face in a slight pout.

The taller man just smiled in return, he shut off his holo-computer before standing up and ruffling the twelve year old's hair. "Sel, I know IIeana wants to be part of the team. What I don't understand is why you're so interested in the team."

The young girl stared at him for a few seconds before breaking eye-contact and sprinting out of the room. The hero ran a hand through his hair before retreating to his own bedroom. Maybe some sleep would help him gather his thoughts.

**Yay! I finally updated on time! Anyways, today was the last day of school and I'm exhausted. But I felt you guys deserved another chapter so here it is. It's a bit on the short side and I didn't exactly 'introduce' the characters, but I swear on my love for Young Justice I do have a plan for this story and I know what I am doing. If you guys would like to tell me something extra about your character then feel free to PM me since I'm always open to your ideas, suggestions and insight. Anyways, I'm out! -BirdsSpeedandArrows. :)**


	7. Chapter Seven

** Hey people! As always, thank you guys so much for all the support in the reviews. They really motivate me to update sooner and write longer chapters for you all. But now, let's get on with the chapter!**

_Bludhaven: Woodnest Café_

_ "_Bludhaven's actually pretty nice once you get used to it." Tim remarked as he took a sip of his white coffee. "It's quite charming actually."

Dick let a hum of agreement out as he took a sip of his own drink. Honestly, it had been a while since he had seen the younger boy so he being the 'great big brother' that he was, he took the initiative to invite the eighteen year old to some coffee. With the both of them being so busy all the time, they haven't had the time to talk to each other.

"So what's going on in your life, Timmy?" Dick asked. "Are you dating anyone yet?" The older man winked cheekily at his 'younger brother'. Tim on the other hand, nearly spit out his drink and his face reddened to match the color of his Red Robin costume.

"Dick! What-no, I'm not seeing a girl-wait no-it's not a guy either-it's just-Ugh, I'm not seeing anyone." The younger boy stuttered lamely as he tried to act casual, though his verbal diarrhea didn't really help with that.

"It's fine Timmy. I was just messing with you." Dick chuckled. "But seriously, how's life?"

Once the leader of the Titans regained his 'cool' he answered. "Things are good-great actually, the Titans are kicking butt as always and I've been catching up on a lot of my training since spring break has started."

The blue eyed man frowned at that. "I meant how was your personal life? Red Robin and Nightwing constantly update each other on training, Titan business and League buisness. But Dick Grayson-Wayne and Tim Drake-Wayne haven't talked to each other about themselves in ages."

Tim's gaze softened. "Oh, college has been great. I aced most of my classes, got some extra credit and at the manor, Damian hasn't physically hurt anyone in three days. All is good, I guess."

Dick sighed at the mention of Damian. The fourteen year old hasn't seen him in months and he could feel the guilt burning at the bottom of his stomach. Dick thought about visiting the Manor, seeing Damian again, eating a lot of Alfred's cooking and maybe settle things right. His thoughts were interrupted by a small cough from Tim, signaling that he was spacing out.

"Sorry Timmy, I didn't mean to space out like that." Dick apologized, fumbling with the strings of his navy hoodie.

"It's fine. Enough about me, how're you?" Tim asked.

"Nothing much." He replied. In reality, he had a lot to say. 'Oh yeah Tim, I'm forming ANOTHER team of teenagers with powers but this time, they're under the control of the League. It's not like anything will go wrong or whatever. Also, Jason's twelve year old protégé is staying at my apartment.'He thought bitterly to himself.

Tim didn't react to that, on the inside though, his thoughts were buzzing. His 'older brother' was either going through something rough or was hiding something. The usual symptoms were all there, he wasn't as talkative, he didn't smile as much and he didn't ruffle Tim's hair like he always did. Something strange was definitely going on.

And he was definitely going to figure it out.

-BREAKLINE-

_The Cave_

"Dude, this is actually really nerve-wrecking. I'm getting butterflies in my stomach." The Flash told him. Nightwing rolled his eyes at his friend. But in all honesty, he was getting nervous as well. The recruits for the team were...different. Each having some sort of spunk to their personality and the protector of Bludhaven actually worried for Wally. It wasn't like the red head was necessarily bad with kids but he sure as Hell will be in for a surprise once he meets the four teenagers.

Nightwing felt a buzz in his utility belt and glanced down to see it was coming from his phone. Not his communicator or his phone he used as Dick Grayson, but the phone Lucius Fox had designed for him to receive text messages and calls from people who knew his secret I.D. The message was from Sel herself and Nightwing hesitantly opened it, he'd be totally screwed over if someone looked over his shoulder and glanced at his phone.

**Little Red: I'm bored. You done yet? **The message read and the black haired man typed in his reply.

**Nightwing: Be patient. We haven't even** **started yet. Dont leave the apartment.**

The hero didn't wait for her reply and quickly shoved the phone into one of the pockets of his utility belt. Flash on the other hand, had been zipping around the new and improved Cave to calm down his nerves. "So tell me, how're these kids even like?" Wally asked when he stopped to stand next to his best friend.

"Like any other teenager you would meet. Dude, it's not like they're gonna kill you or anything. Relax." Nightwing replied, getting ready to step into the zeta beam to teleport to the watchtower.

"Fine." The speedster huffed childishly. "Let's just go."

Nightwing chuckled. "Sure thing."

At this, both men entered the Zeta, waiting for it to transport them to the watchtower.

**This chapter is a bit on the short side since it only builds up to the next chapter. Oh well, next chapter you'll be seeing HALF of the team! Don't forget to review :D I've decided that the best and frequent reviews from the people whose characters that have been accepted, have a bigger chance of their character getting the best/more dialogue, action scenes, romance, friendships, etc.**


	8. Chapter Eight

Chapter 8

Watchtower

"Wing?"

"Yeah?"

"Why're we in the Watchtower? Shouldn't we just be down at the Cave and be waiting for the kids?" Wally asked in confusion.

"They're gonna arrive a bit later than planned, nothing to worry about. And to answer your first question, I had something to do up here in the Watchtower before we got started."

Wally raised a quizzical eyebrow, it couldn't be seen because of his cowl but Nightwing knew it was there. "Then wouldn't the rest of the League be suspicious about our whereabouts?"

Nightwing sent him a smile, not just any smile but the certain smile that either meant one of two things. Oh how the 28 year old red-head hated that smile. It either meant Nightwing was up to no good or he knew something you didn't. The freckled man guessed it was the latter.

"Why would the League be suspicious about something they're fully aware about?" Nightwing asked, that damn smile still on his face.

It hit Wally like a ton of bricks. "So you're telling me that the League knew all this time?! Everything from the recruits, to the Cave?"

"Yep. What's wrong with that? We both trust them with our lives, we did use some of the League's funds for the Cave and not to mention, the Team is the covert team of the Justice League, not just Nightwing and Flash." The former Robin replied, a hint of obvious amusement in seeing his best friend act like this.

"Since when did they know? And why didn't you tell me about it?" Wally demanded,

"They didn't know from the very beginning. I told them during a 'formal' meeting, it was in the meeting room and all."

"Where was I?" The green eyed man yelped.

"At the hospital. You were kinda knocked out cold. Remember, you told me that you had to baby-sit some kid and the next thing I knew, you were at the hospital." The black and blue clad hero told him. Leaving his friend gaping at him. Nightwing shifted uneasily, not having anything else to say.

They stood in a tension-filled silence before the protector of Bludhaven couldn't take it anymore. He hated silence, especially when it was awkward.

"Wally?" Nightwing asked, feeling a bit uncertain.

"What?"

"I haven't really been a good best friend lately now haven't I?" Nightwing's masked eyes were now glancing at the speedster, resembling a guilty child.

The speedster was taken aback. "What?" He asked dumbly, not believing his ears.

"I'm sorry, okay? I've been such a douche lately it's not even funny anymore. Plus, I've acted more like an asshole than a friend to you, I mean, we hardly even talk as Dick Grayson and Wally West, it's more like Nightwing and The Flash. To be honest, I can't remember the last time we hung out. We used to do that so much as kids but now..." The blue eyed man bit his bottom lip-not having anything else to say.

Wally's gaze softened, he rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "Dude, it's cool. You're a sassy and sarcastic little troll, I know how you're like. I've been your best friend since we were kids." The red-head tried.

The younger man was stubborn about it and shook his head slightly. "Wally, it's not 'cool'. I feel like I've been keeping secrets from you and that's not what a best bro does." The hero realized how childish he was sounding by saying 'best bro' but he didn't care.

The twenty-eight year old realized who he was talking to. He wasn't talking to Nightwing but he was talking to Dick Grayson. Knowing his friend, the man was incredibly stubborn, it was nearly impossible to persuade him when he already made up his mind.

"Dick, I'm twenty-eight years old and I don't have the mental or emotional stability of a piece of glass. Sarcasm and a few sassy comments won't make me cry myself to sleep, you know that. Hell, when we were younger, you'd always pull pranks on me and embarrass me when we didn't play pranks on everyone else, sure it was embarrassing but I got over it. It's not a big deal, dude. Plus, we're not eight year old girls who throw tantrums when their best friends don't tell them secrets, we both respect each other's privacy, right?"

"Yeah you have a point but League business isn't a dumb secret, it's important and you know that." The black haired man argued, though his voice was hesitant.

Wally rolled his eyes, trust Dick to always argue and find little holes in his rants. "Seriously? Trust me dude, it's okay. We're both incredibly busy and we tend to forget things, that's what makes us human."

Dick let out a weak chuckle. "You're on to talk, Flash-boy. The last time I checked, you can run at the speed of light. You're a meta-human, genius."

Wally laughed at that and ruffled his best friend's inky-black hair. "See? Your sarcastic comments are funny. And I was trying to make an inspirational speech and you just had to ruin it by stating that I'm a meta-human. Great job, Boy Wonder. And aren't you supposed to be retrieving something from up here?" He asked.

"Yeah, I completely forgot about that." Duck answered honestly, taking a left turn. Great, because of their little discussion, the two men wandered around the Watchtower, taking random turns and not paying attention to where they were going. It'd take about 10 minutes for Dick-no Nightwing to do whatever he was planning to do before they had to go back to the Cave.

Oh well, at least they had a heart-to-heart best bro talk,right? They didn't waste that much time.

The Cave

So far, things were good. Well, as good as they can get. The red haired man thought as he had been standing in the same position for about fifteen whole minutes! In the past hour, the teenage boy his best friend got out of prison-Dan was it? Spat sarcastically at him every time he tried to talk to him. The other boy named Calvin who had ice powers or something did nothing but walk around the Cave and looked at everything as if he were in a museum. Yep, Wally could've been munching on his favorite chips and sitting around at home but instead he was here.

The girls on the other hand, weren't quite bad. Though it was awkward with lleana when he tried to make a joke and all he got in return was a confused look coming from the dark-haired girl. Wally actually liked 'Green' the most out of all 4 teenagers he met, she was the nicest one and had actually laughed at his jokes. So he supposed it wasn't too bad.

The more he thought about it, the more complicated it got. He had his hesitations and protests when his dear best friend had told him that he was planning on restarting the team, not just any team but 'The Team'. Could he really help Dick with this? If he was being honest, he didn't exactly do much. Dick did everything, from researching, recruiting and even remodeled the cave all on his own. How he did that, Wally didn't know, when he tried to ask the younger man all he got was a simple_ 'I'm a bat_' as a reply.

The question still remained. Could he really trust the new batch of teens? Would he be able to form a bond with them as their mentor, let alone trust them with his secret identity? When he was younger, he would proudly introduce himself as Wally West a.k.a Kid Flash to anyone he deemed as a trustworthy person in the hero biz. Things changed as he got older, he matured well enough to know the consequences of screaming your full name on the rooftops while in his Kid Flash costume and he wasn't as 'flirty' as he was before. One thing that was for sure was that he never identified himself as 'The Flash', it was always Wally. Obviously while protecting the city he would be called 'The Flash' but he just wasn't him. That title would always belong to Barry, the least he could do was to respect that.

He had grown up so much with the Team without even realizing it and it made his stomach churn uncomfortably. Did Dick really want to do this? Replace what they both once had with M'gann, Kaludr, Conner, Artemis and even Roy with some new kids? Would it be genuine or just forced? Contrary to popular belief, Wally always had a hard time adapting to change, he just didn't like it. The red-head was a 'live in the moment' guy but he just didn't like things changing. Then it hit him like a ton of bricks. _Did he really hate change as much as he thought or did he hate being replaced_? The green eyed man settled on biting his lower lip, snapping his attention to other things.

Wally took time to evaluate the teens one by one. They were all in their chosen civvies and they were currently talking to Nightwing. The green eyed man took note of the expressions on their faces and how they acted like in front of the two heroes.

To him, Calvin or 'Ice' as his chosen alias was his obvious pick for team leader. The brown hair and brown eyed eighteen year old had this 'big brother' vibe to him. Calvin's alias was self explanatory, he had ice powers. The teen wore a blue tank top with matching jeans and jacket, tennis shoes and a gold watch on his wrist.

Ever Green or Green as she likes to be called when in civvies was a total sweetheart who actually laughed at his jokes! If Wally had to be honest, he was a little confused at first how her eyes had no pupil, the whites of her eyes were still there but no pupil, there was still color and it was a bright emerald green. That didn't matter though, since Green chose to wear her goggles. The fifteen year old's civvies consisted of a plain, pale purple shirt, black cargo pants and some gray Converse on her feet. She had the ability to shoot out powerful green blasts from her eyes though she chooses to use her swords instead.

lleana, who goes by the alias 'Filo Rosso' (which Dick had to tell him meant Red Wire in English) didn't have any 'superpowers' instead she had three drone things that were disk shaped and about over a foot in diameter that assisted her in combat and could even be used as a platform for her to 'fly'. He learned that the sixteen year old had a mindset that was very concentrated on logic and had a difficult time comprehending things that weren't logical. The dark, wavy-haired girl wore a collared red shirt along with a pair of black shoes and black jeans.

Dan, who chose to be called 'Stone' when on the field had the powers to change his skin into rock, gaining strength and hardened skin. The teenager was extremely sarcastic and snide. The seventeen year old wore a black leather jacket over a gray v-neck along with a pair of jeans and some hiking boots.

Wally watched as Dan scanned the whole Cave, looking unimpressed. The teen crossed his arms over his chest and he sent a small glare in Wally's direction. "And who are you supposed to be? You don't look really all that useful to be honest."

The red head gaped at him for a few seconds,not believing his ears. "Excuse me?"

The brunet boy sneered at the older man. "You heard me, what help is a freaking speedster gonna bring to a team of 8 teenagers? Plus, you don't look intimidating at all. I don't suppose you're the housekeeper around here, because that's the only thing I can deem you useful for."

The green eyed man's jaw nearly hit the floor. He was planning on the giving the kid a piece of his mind when a firm hand held him back. "Let it slide, dude." Dick-wait no Nightwing told him. Wally reluctantly did so, trying to ignore the look sent in his direction.

"Nightwing?" A new voice spoke up, it was Calvin, the eighteen year old had his arms crossed over his chest, a look of slight concern on his face. "I think we should get back to business now, we wouldn't want to waste anymore time."

Green nodded. "I agree with Calvin, you know how fast time flies." IIeana raised an eyebrow at what the younger girl said but didn't comment on it.

The two heroes looked down at the four teens, Nightwing sent a small smile in their direction. "So serious now aren't you? Well if you want to go back to it then let's get this show on the road!"

The next twenty minutes were fairly uneventful, Wally stayed at his friend's side the whole time and even discussed a few things with him. The ebony haired hero lectured them on the responsibilities of being on a team, keeping their identities secret and overall safety and what he expects from them. He was in the middle of discussing possible missions that'll be assigned to the team when a scoff was heard, the occupants in the room turned their attention to Dan, who once again had his arms crossed and his face in a frown.

"Is there something wrong, Dan?" Nightwing asked, his voice even. Wally bit his lip, if this kid was gonna cause even more trouble, as nice and cheery his best friend may be, no one would ever want to come across an angry Nightwing.

"I still can't believe how much of an optimist you are." The brown haired boy sneered, the other three teenagers already sensing the rising tension in the air. "You're not even a meta-human yet you think you're so high and mighty. If you really want to be around kids so much then why don't you go to a daycare. Newsflash, you're no Superman, I really don't get why the League would choose someone like you to lead them."

Before Wally could open his mouth to say something, Calvin interjected. "Dan that's enough, we shouldn't be picking fights like that for no reason. Nightwing and Flash are here as our mentors, we should listen to what they say." Calvin glanced at the older heroes, Nightwing gave a curt nod while the speedster looked like he wanted to give Dan a piece of his mind, what exactly was this kid's problem?

The tall teenager thought about his remaining options before backing down, not saying a single word for the rest of the time-being, choosing instead to mutter some things under his breath.

Green on the other hand, looked slightly worried about the tension that was thick in the air. The blonde girl wasn't one for arguments, it was in her nature to help others and make sure everything was alright. Green thought about trying to say something but settled on giving Nightwing a small, encouraging smile. "I think we should continue now." She told no one in particular, Nightwing continued as if nothing had happened.

Wally spent the rest of the time praying to every god out there that things will be alright for he and his best friend's sake. Hell, they were only in their twenties and Wally was starting to get worried about finding gray strands in his bright red hair. Fortunately, everything went smoothly and no one went bat-shit crazy. So yeah, things did turn out okay at the end of the day.

Let's just say that Wally pretended not to notice the smug 'I-told-you-so' look on the younger man's face.

-BREAKLINE-

"Dick, when do you think Jason will be back from his mission? It's been five weeks since I last seen him." Sel asked hesitantly, she bit her bottom lip and shifted awkwardly from where she was standing.

The older man had no idea how to reply to that. He knew that when his 'younger brother' didn't want to be contacted, he couldn't be contacted. That's just how good he was. But crap, he had a twelve year old girl who was missing her guardian a lot and Dick was about to start panicking if he didn't recieve a simple text from the other man. He left around 15 texts, 6 missed calls and 11 voice messages for the younger man but no avail, he knew Jason was on a mission and was trying to be incognito and all that but seriously, not even Batman himself was this unresponsive!

"Sel, you know Jason is busy with his mission. But I swear on my love for red heads, he will make it up to you once it's done with, okay?" The acrobat promised. The young girl nodded, her pigtails bobbing up and down with the movement.

"Okay." She replied slowly, her voice still laced with a little disappointment. After a while her lip curled upwards into a smile. "Would you mind if we made some of those Cheesy Potato Bites you made for us once? I didn't expect for someone like you to be such a great cook."

Dick wore an expression of mock offense and put his hand to his chest dramatically. "Oh Selastine, you wound me deeply. My culinary skills are simply amazing. It hurts me so much that you think this way!" He sighed dramatically once again and pretended to sob. This earned a laugh from Sel.

"You're terrible." She told him when she was done laughing, her smile still on her lips and her blue eyes bright. Dick sent a cheeky smile in her direction when he was done fishing out some ingredients for the snack. He bent down to retrieve a pan he needed from the bottom cupboard and he felt eyes on him, his behind specifically. The blue eyed man stood up straight and faced the young anti-hero in training who was staring at his behind somewhat casually.

"Sorry, I didn't catch the memo on what was so interesting behind me that you felt the need to stare." Dick commented jokingly in a mock serious tone.

"Sorry, but with a butt like that, who wouldn't stare?" Sel countered.

"You're twelve years old, I don't think you should be staring at people's behinds like that."

Sel chuckled. "I only stare at yours. It's practically perfect." She shrugged like talking about her temporary guardian's...behind was the most normal thing ever.

Dick nearly face-palmed and made a face. "Sel!" He scolded, which wasn't really effective due to the obvious blush forming on his face. Sel let out a lot of laughs, having to clutch her stomach becacuse she couldn't breathe.

"I was kidding! Relax!" She wheezed between her laughs.

The older hero pouted childishly. "Now I don't feel like making you food anymore."

"Yeah sure you don't."

When the ebony haired man started preparing the food, he left Sel to browse on his laptop. The girl treated herself to a few episodes of a show he didn't know before claiming that it had the best series finale in the history of all shows before going on other websites. When he was done, he set some plates down on the table. "So what're you up to now?" He asked.

"Call me work-crazy but I'm actually researching." She replied, stabbing one of the cheesy treats with her fork and popping it into her mouth.

"You're way too young to be called work-crazy." Dick replied. "If you don't mind me asking, researching on what exactly?"

"Apparently, some cities like Jump and Coast have been experiencing chaos. Mayors and other politicians are assassinated weekly, explosions at the most random of times and some even say magic could possibly be involved." Sel tells him.

Dick sighed. As much as he admired the young girl's interest in crime and whatnot. He feared that she may end up not knowing how to be a kid or to have fun. Dick cursed himself for not noticing this earlier. Sel was trying to clear her mind off of things.

"Send the important files and your analysis to my other computer regarding those tomorrow. I don't think I feel like talking about anything related to tragedies and deaths tonight." Dick told her.

The small girl nodded in understanding. "I know. But I can tell that you want to tell me what happened earlier with your 'team'."

"They're strong as individuals, they'd be even stronger as a whole team. While I'm still looking for the other four, I could already tell that they can do incredible things as a team. Sure they didn't get along at first but nobody's perfect. They'll bond, fight, laugh and shed tears together. But that's what a team is for. And I can sure as Hell swear that I'll train these kids to be the best people that they can be. I want to help them mature into a good people, not broken soldiers."

"Dick?"

"Yeah?"

"That was an incredibly cheesy speech." Sel told him, cutting up another piece of her food and popped it in her mouth.

Dick smiled softly and ruffled her hair. "So, what do you wanna do now?"

The brunette girl seemed to think about it for a few seconds before looking up at him. "Tell me a story." She said simply. "And don't make fun of me saying that I'm too old for stories, I'm only twelve." She grinned at him.

The man quirked an eyebrow at that but his smile was still there. "A Dick Grayson story or a Nightwing story?" He asked.

"A Robin story. Tell me something about the missions you had with your team. The fun ones okay? I don't wanna hear about stopping robberies and beating up petty thugs. I want an exciting story."

Dick seemed to think about it for a few moments. "Wanna hear about the time we went undercover at a Wayne gala to 'protect' Bruce Wayne? If I remember correctly, it wasn't even an actual mission. The old man just wanted us to improve our undercover and disguise skills. The thing is, the team couldn't work with Dick Grayson due to obvious reasons so Bruce made me dress as a girl." He frowned a little at the memory.

"You? Dress like a girl? Were you able to pull it off though?" Sel asked in disbelief.

"Yeah I did. I had to pretend to be Bruce's European goddaughter who was visiting him for a while. Had to prance around in a short pink dress that was more like a glittery top and tutu more than anything. Spent 4 four hours trying to hide from the team, which was kinda hard when a certain red headed speedster kept flirting with you."

The former Robin sighed at the memory he remembered all too clearly. He had shaved his whole body, his face filled with expensive makeup and he had to wear hair extensions that were a total pain. When that mission was done, he swore that he was never going to cross-dress again, no matter what his mentor thought or said.

Sel let out a string of laughs, clutching her stomach when he finished. "Gee, Boy Wonder, you sure had a hard life." She wheezed. A few minutes later, they ate and laughed about Dick's embarrassing moments during his time as Robin for a bit more before Sel excused herself when she finished her food. "I'm gonna go to bed. It's getting kinda late." She told him, leaving her plate in the dishwasher and walking to her 'room' after saying a quick 'goodnight' to him.

Dick watched as Sel shut the door, he waited to hear the light switch off and he stood from his seat, placing his own plate in the dishwasher before going into his room and making sure to lock the door. He whipped his phone out, scrolled down through his contacts list and clicked on the one he was looking for. Pressing the phone to his ear, he waited for the younger man to pick up.

"What do you want now? You've been leaving me voice messages and texts like crazy." A gruff voice spoke.

"I wouldn't need to if you actually answered my calls, Little Wing." Dick chided.

Even through the phone, the blue eyed man could sense Jason roll his eyes. "Do you even need anything or are you just messing with me?

The acrobat's tone turned serious. "Jason." He began. "Sel misses you, she tried to act like it's fine but I know she really misses you. Can't you at least visit? Even for a while? I know you're on a mission but like you said, Roy and Kor'i are there and can handle it while you're gone. What do you say?"

When Dick received a few moments of silence he was afraid Jason might've hung up on him. He heard a sigh from the other line. "I'll see what I can do." Was all the younger man said before hanging up completely. Leaving Dick in the silence of his bedroom.

Unbeknownst to the blue eyed man, outside the window of his apartment a dark, shadowy figure waited patiently in a crouching position on the steep ledge. Their small communicator in their ear and listening to their master's comments and or instructions.

"Did he see you? Does he have any clue that you're watching him?" The honey-smooth but dangerous voice that belonged to Master spoke.

"No sir, but from what I can gather, Grayson is nothing but a fool. I do not understand your interest towards him. He simply isn't worth our time."

"You need not understand my plan, child. You are there simply to watch him, take note of his weaknesses, his routines and whatnot. Once that is done you shall report everything to me, is that so difficult to understand? The man asked, his voice icy cold. "And what have I said about disobedience and unnecessary comments?" Master hissed sharply, his voice sounding slightly irritated.

"Yes sir. I apologize."

"Good. Now continue and focus at the task at hand. I will leave you to be." Master told him before hanging up, leaving the shadow in total radio silence.

The dark figure sighed, watching from the shadows as Grayson just now shut the curtains of his bedroom.

"Mark my words, Grayson. I will kill you. No matter what the consequences are." The shadow whispered, sharp knife already clutched tightly in their hands.

** So what do you guys think? This chapter is a bit longer than expected so I guess that's good (or bad?). Oh yeah, if you're wondering, Wally and Dick will NOT be a couple in this story (But I ship them to the stars and back) I just don't see how any pairings will work in this story so yeah. Heads up for the next chapter: We will be meeting ALLIES of the team. They're not officially part of the team but they help when the situation calls for it. So look forward to meeting them :). Also, tell me what you think in the reviews and if you want to PM me you may. **


	9. Chapter Nine

**Here is a chapter for you all. Characters were submitted by SkylineArmy98, doublem9327 and user that requested for me not to mention their name. Hope you all enjoy meeting the ALLIES of the team!**

Wally zipped through the streets of Central City with a determined look on his face. He skidded through sharp turns until he reached his destination. The red-head smiled to himself as he stopped in front of a very familiar building. It was no other than STAR Labs, the very same place he worked at as Wally West.

The speedster zipped to the top of the building and was met with silence. He frowned slightly at this, he was used to being late and getting called out for it. Not the other way around.

It didn't take long for the other one to arrive, the speedster waited for about ten minutes, but to him, it seemed like he was waiting for 10 years. "Took you long enough,kid. You don't seem like the type to be late." Wally teased playfully, his arms crossed against his chest in mock seriousness.

At that moment, a seventeen year old teen with dirty blonde hair, a lean figure, wearing his normal everyday clothes, which consisted of a white v-neck, blue club shorts and some loafers on his feet. The teen had a winning smile on his face as he greeted the older man.

"Sorry about that. I'm not usually late, but there's a first time for everything I guess." The teen chuckled.

Wally had known Isaac for quite a while now. His father, Barry Robinson was his colleague at STAR Labs as the resident biochemist, Wally had met Isaac about half a year ago. Isaac himself so kindly volunteered

at STAR Labs from time to time and Wally just so happened to meet him. The kid was hilarious and overall a great kid so they both shared jokes and laughed.

But one would ask, why the Hell would a seventeen year old boy be volunteering himself at STAR Labs as a research subject? Well the answer was quite simple actually, Isaac wasn't an ordinary teen, he was a meta human. He has the special ability to mimic an ability of any animal that he chooses, no he cannot transform into them and he is limited to only mimic the abilities of animals that he has observed. But nevertheless, the teen wasn't reckless about his powers and used them responsibly so all was good.

Isaac looked at him for a few seconds before he spoke up. "So, why are we up here? The view's great and all but did you have to be in uniform, Wally?" The blonde boy asked, since he had found out that his father's colleague was the one and only Flash, he had been surprised but promised to keep quiet about it. Wally knew the teen could keep a secret and wasn't one to break his promises so he was fine with it.

The red head rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Well I came to talk to you here because this matter doesn't involve Wally West but it involves The Flash."

Isaac's expression shifted to a look of concern. "Is everything alright?"

"Well for the most part, yes. But I'm actually here to ask you a favor" Wally answered.

"Me? Dude, you're a superhero! Why would someone like you need something from little old me?" Isaac joked.

The red head briefly chuckled before he turned serious."What I'm about to ask you is dangerous and you have to promise me that you'll take this seriously."

Isaac noticed the change in the tone of the older man's voice and blinked. Strange. Wally didn't seem like the serious type. The blonde teenager shifted awkwardly. "Well, what is it?"he asked hesitantly.

"Nightwing is recruiting young heroes to recreate the old covert team of the Justice League. It started around twelve years ago when I was around sixteen, Nightwing was still Robin at that time and I was still Kid Flash. We had four other teammates, Superboy, Miss Martian, Artemis and Aqualad. I won't get into details but after a while, the team separated. Now here we are, twelve years later, Nightwing already has half of the team while I'm recruiting some allies."

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" The seventeen year old asked reluctantly.

"Yes. But remember that I'm not forcing you into anything, Isaac. It's your choice if you want to and I completely understand because being a hero is not something to take lightly, I learned that the hard way. So I'll give you time to think long and hard about it." Wally answered, getting ready to leave but Isaac stopped him.

"I'll do it" Isaac stated, holding the older man's wrist. Wally stared at him for a moment before Isaac's grip on him disappeared and he backed away. The speedster raised a quizzical eyebrow at him that once again wasn't visible behind his cowl.

"Isaac, being a hero is serious business and has serious responsibilities, you can't just make a decision like that in a snap. You have to think about it. Think about what you have at stake and what'll happen if you're out there on the field", Wally lectured.

Isaac sent Wally that blinding smile of his before replying. "Trust me Wally. Ever since you've told me that you're The Flash, I've been thinking about being a hero and using my powers to help people. God, I know this sounds really cheesy and cliché but I'm up to the challenge of being a hero. Dude, I'll be there to help you and your team whenever you need me to, and that's a promise."

Surprisingly enough, the older man flashed Isaac an equally dazzling grin. "Well if you're that determined then I guess that means I'm going to have to train you,kid."

"So, when do you plan to start?"

BREAKLINE

The sound of steel blades hitting against each other echoed through the dark alley as the young teenager blocked a punch from the man. He swiftly dodged another hit from the criminal with his katana and sent a roundhouse kick to his face, knocking the man unconscious. He hit the ground with a _thud _andthe sapphire blue eyed teen sheathed his sword.

Keiji then turned his attention to the kid he had protected from the criminal. It was a skinny little boy with spiky dark hair, brown eyes and wore a loose t-shirt, some shorts and a pair of worn out sneakers. The boy also had an equally worn out blue kitten plushie tucked under his arm, he looked up at Keiji, which was a bit of a challenge since the kid was around half his height.

The sapphire blue eyed teen wondered why the Hell a kid would be out in a dark alley at this hour but then stopped for a second because he himself was a kid out in a dark alley this late at night. But that didn't stop him from questioning the small boy "Kid, what're you doing here so late at night? Shouldn't you be at home with your parents? Don't you know that it's really dangerous for a kid like you to be out here so late at night?"

The skinny boy blinked at him before biting his lip, his eyes turned moist and Keiji was worried that the kid would start crying. To his surprise, the boy answered him "I don't have parents anymore. I live at the orphanage" the boy answered timidly, clutching his blue kitten tighter.

"That doesn't answer my first and third question, though. What're you doing out here in the middle of night?" The tall teen asked, bending down to the kid's height to talk to him properly.

The brown eyed boy looked around to make sure no one was listening, "I'm not supposed to be here, the caretakers at the orphanage would be mad if they knew I was here but I couldn't help it. There's already too little food and I wanted to look for some for me and Rue" he replied, looking like a kicked puppy.

Keiji's gaze softened for a moment before replying, "Still, it's not safe around these parts. What'd you say if I walk you home?"

The kid looked...scared. His gaze was unsure and he seemed nervous. Sighing, Keiji scolded himself in his head, _of course I forgot to introduce myself. No kid would want to follow around some guy that they don't even know the name of._

_"_You can callme Switch by the way. Don't worry, I'm not anything like the guy that tried to attack you, I just wanna make sure that you get back home safely" Keiji told him, making sure to tell the kid his hero alias rather than his name.

The dark haired boy relaxed a bit, still clutching his dear kitten plushie to his chest. "I'm Kaien. Are you some kinda superhero or somethin?"

Keiji was taken aback at the kid-Kaien's question, nevertheless he answered. "I guess you could say that." The teenager gestured for Kaien to lead the way to the orphanage but made sure to follow closely behind, Kaien got the signal and started walking.

"Hey, Kaien?" Keiji asked.

"Hmmm?"

"Do you happen to be Japanese or have Japanese blood by any chance? I'm just curious because your name-" Keiji trailed off.

"Well I'm not exactly sure about that, Switch. I never knew my mom, my dad never bothered to tell me anything so I don't know. Sorry" Kaien said apologetically.

"It's fine. So how much farther is this orphanage? And are you safe there, Kaien? I mean, are the people around there nice to you?"

"Yeah I guess. Sure it's a bit run down but it is home. The caretakers are kinda protective but all the kids play together so it's okay" Kaien explained.

"That's good" Keiji mumbled in relief. "So are we there yet?"

"Yep" Kaien said, stopping at an average looking building, it wasn't tall, the windows were just the right size and overall looked like a regular brick building.

"So, you sure you're okay now kid?" Keiji asked.

Kaien nodded before a slight blush crept on his small face "I wanna say thank you for protecting me from that guy back in the alley there. I really wanna repay you but I d-don't have much s-so I'm s-sorry" Kaien stuttered.

Keiji offered him a smile in return. "It's alright, you don't have to give me anything. Be careful out there kid" he said before taking his leave but Kaien stopped him at the last second. "You should be careful too. Good people like you don't deserve to be hurt."

"Thanks Kaien. Goodbye" Keiji gave the boy a mock salute before dashing away, not missing the small wave he got in return.

It wasn't long until Keiji had felt as if someone was watching him, following him even. He had his hand on his Bowie knife which was attached to a chain with a kunai, prepared in case something was going to attack him. His sharp eyes saw a quick glimpse of scarlet and red and he cursed himself for not being as good with throwing knives as he wanted to be. The red blur stopped in front of him and Keiji's eyes went wide for a second.

It was The Flash, standing there in his bright red costume, arms crossed and a grin on his face.

At that moment, Keiji's words spilled out of his mouth like there was no tomorrow, he had always been a fast talker. "Are you really The Flash? What're you doing here? Were you following me around? Are you even real or are you just an illusion? Are you-" Keiji was cut off when he heard the man chuckle not so subtly, his curiosity were then replaced by slight anger and maybe embarrassment.

"Hey, why're you laughing at me?" Keiji asked, flushing a bit red from anger and slight embarrassment.

"I didn't mean to offend you"Wally reassured the teen. "But I have to say, you do have sharp reflexes and you have sharp eyes if I do say so myself."

Keiji paused momentarily, this was _The_ _Flash_ he was talking to. One of the heroes who were a part of the _Justice League, _thelegends themselves who saved his parents from a falling building. It was just weird to see one of them right in front of him, and they were talking in the middle of a deserted park in the middle of the night nonetheless.

"Thanks" Keiji said dryly. "But seriously, what are you doing here?"

"I don't mean to sound like a stalker or something like that, but I've been seeing you take down muggers and thieves all over the city. You have skill and you could use that skill for so much more rather than take out petty criminals every night."

"You don't even know me. And besides, I don't think I'm good as you say I am" Keiji replied.

"Don't sell yourself short" Wally chastised. "From what I can see, you're a good strategist and you're great with hand to hand combat."

"So you've been stalking me? Like you've seen me fight and you saw me-"

"Yep" Wally said, popping the _p. "_I saw you help out that little kid. That was nice of you to do."

"Really, I'm flattered but you don't even know my name and I think there is a huge difference between you and I in terms of being a hero."

The speedster quirked an eyebrow at that. "And what exactly is that difference, _Switch?"_

Keiji gaped that the older hero actually knew his name but snapped out of it to answer his question. "Heroes like you, Superman, Batman, the Green Lanterns and even Nightwing are pretty much legends that saved the world countless of times. But 'heroes' like me are supposed to handle all the minor criminals, that's our job."

"That's not what a hero is supposed to be about. Being a hero means you protect those who can't protect themselves because that's the right thing to do. Anyone can put on a costume, beat up criminals and become a _vigilante_ but being a hero means you have the heart to protect. And it's your choice, kid whether you want to be a hero or not."

The black clad teen stayed quiet, not having anything else to say and the red head man continued. "What I'm trying to say here is, would you be willing to ally yourself with the

team of teenage heroes the Justice League is restarting? You don't have to give me a direct answer right now, Switch."

After a discussion on hero responsibilities, secret identities and whatnot, Wally was sure that the kid was ready and took his leave.

"You know you can contact me whenever you need me" the speedster told him.

"I don't even have your number" the teen replied.

The green eyed man chuckled and in a flash, he was gone.

"Well that was unexpected" Keiji said to himself as he walked away.

BREAKLINE

"What do you mean you want _me_ to ally me and my forces for your little sidekick squad?" A little voice shrieked. If Wally didn't know better, he would've ran as fast as he could (which was really fast, mind you) away from here because a certain little brat was getting on his nerves. But since he did know better, said brat could actually benefit the Team later on so he decided to keep his mouth shut, at least for now.

"I'm saying that your forces could really help the covert team of the_ Justice League _in the future whenever certain villains would cause trouble." Wally explained, emphasizing 'Justice League' in his sentence to prove how big of a deal this was.

What was happening exactly? Well right now, he was at this HUGE mansion, in the high tech but still scary basement nonetheless and trying to persuade a wealthy little girl to ally herself and her vast groups of highly trained reinforcements (a.k.a a hundred highly skilled vigilantes at her command) with the Team. Well, so much for trying to help Dick recruit allies. (Though he did successfully recruit two of them so he was proud of himself for that.)

The black haired girl in front of him frowned at that. "Do I look like I care about your little team? As a matter of fact, the only member of the Justice League I am willing to negotiate with is Nightwing and since Nightwing is not present here right now, then why should I listen to a blubbering imbecile such as yourself? It absolutely disgusts me that an ignoramus is aware of my secret identity."

Wally resisted to urge to bang his head against the cold, metal walls. When would he catch a break? He already has Dan sarcastically snapping at him every chance the teen gets and now he has yet again another kid downgrading and insulting him. This time, said kid was none other than Lilinette Jaggershaw or more well known as 'Nova', the leader of an underground group of vigilantes called 'The Blurs'. Wally still wasn't quite sure what kind of parent would allow their child to lead a group of vigilantes but he didn't dare comment on it.

'The Blurs' was a covert team of highly-equipped and trained vigilantes that mostly patrol around the cities of Central and Bludhaven. Given that they do their best to stay secret, only few actually know about their existence. Although there are a few news reports and stolen pictures of masked men or women dressed in white and gold uniforms, wielding swords and taking out mob-bosses and criminals no one for sure was able to tell what or who exactly they were. But of course, Nightwing being part of the batfamily, knows everything related to crime and vigilantism.

The Jaggershaw family themselves don't appear on tabloids or anything like that often. Wally suspects that they pay off certain people to pull some strings to lessen public appearances and or gossip. Most people didn't really know much about them, other than they're filthy rich and they have power, what kind of power, Wally didn't really want to find out.

"Lilinette-"Wally began, but was cut off by a cold glare coming from the kid. "What?" Wally asked in confusion.

"It's Ms. Jaggershaw or Nova to you, trash." The green eyed girl snapped, two of her masked foot soldiers or body guards at her sides in case she decided to attack Wally herself, which wasn't a pretty image because despite her size, Lilinette could really pull a punch.

The red head nearly rolled his eyes under his cowl, murmuring something under his breath about children with anger issues and their need to loosen up. "Ms. Jaggershaw," Wally tried again, receiving a nod from one of the foot soldiers. They themselves were all dressed in skin-tight pristine white uniforms that closely resembled the ones that ninjas used, but in white. Despite having the same attire, each of them wielded a different sword of their choice.

Lilinette Jaggershaw was the young heiress to the famous Jaggershaw family's wealth. The eight year old wore a black dress with matching combat boots and for some reason had a big clip in her dark hair that was in the shape of a pink cartoon skull.

"Ms. Jaggershaw, Nightwing is busy with other things as of now. But I'm his right-hand man so I can assure you that everything you tell me will be directed to Nightwing the next time I see him." The speedster said through gritted teeth, trying to be as 'respectful' as possible. In total honesty, he felt ridiculous talking to an eight year old child like this.

Lilinette sighed exasperatedly. "I honestly do not care who you are. But I can tell you are persistent and you won't leave unless I ally myself with you, correct?"

The speedster nodded. Not sure on where this was heading.

"I propose that I should converse with Nightwing myself and maybe then I will think about it. Nightwing is in fact a very skilled leader and an intelligent one at that." Lilinette continued, before a wicked grin appeared on her face. "Or should I say_, Richard Grayson_-_Wayne."_ The little girl made sure to drawl out his words slowly, but the impact was still there.

The ginger's eyes widened and his jaw dropped to the ground. There is no way in Hell that this little kid would know his best friend's secret identity. Wally mumbled every single swear word he knew under his breath when he realized that if she knew Dick's secret identity then she probably knew every single person in the 'batfamily's' as well.

Wally swallowed the lump in his throat, his thoughts buzzing through his head. His thoughts however, were interrupted by that same squeaky voice.

"I also know your secret identity as well, Wallace West." Lilinette stated, her face still painted with that triumphant smirk that he so badly wanted to wipe off.

Feeling his mouth was dry, the speedster didn't reply. Lilinette stared at him for a few seconds then continued, "Well, what do you say? Would you be willing to tell Nightwing this or no? Because if you refuse my proposal then you leave me no choice but to kick you out of my headquarters."

Wally gritted his teeth together, knowing that he didn't really have a choice in this matter. _Dick better be grateful that I'm doing this for the sake of the team. Kids are fine most of the time but I think I've received way too many degrading insults coming from them. _

_"_Yes. I'll tell him everything you've told me. And I'll be sure to tell him to arrange a personal meeting with you."

Lilinette grinned so wide Wally was scared her face might split, her black haired girl's eyes had this twinkle of mischief he didn't miss and he gulped. Wally then swore at that very moment that he was _never_ going to have kids.

**Thank you so much, guys! I apologize for the late update but the wifi connection sucks from where I live and I may or may not have gotten the case of writer's block... But do not fret, I shall post as often as I can. Don't forget to review because remember: the more often you do, the more screen time your character will have.**

**IMPORTANT NOTE: Since I am struggling with slight writer's block, feel free to tell me in the reviews or PM me what you want to see in the next chapter(apart from meeting the other half of the team because I will introduce them VERY soon) Please tell me if you want something fluffy, funny, simple or angsty and I'll see what I can do. The person with the best idea gets of course the thing that they wanted written and a shoutout in the next chapter!**

**See ya next chapter. **

**-BirdsSpeedandArrows xx**


	10. Chapter Ten

**A/N: Before you read this chapter, you must know that this takes place in an AU so Wally never 'died' and Dick became Nightwing after the Team separated and formed the Teen Titans. Basically, Season 2 never the chapter!**

**Shout-out to doublem9327 and AsgardianGrizzly for the wonderful ideas and for being as supportive as always.**

"Please tell me that I just heard you wrong or you're just kidding."

"Nope. Not at all, Wally," Dick said, that shit-eating grin on his face that made Wally uncomfortable.

They were at Wally's apartment, the red head lived alone in a nice neighborhood and Dick decided that they were in need of a serious 'civvies bro session'. So here they were, eating junk food, playing video games and dressed in sweats like the adults that they were.

"So you're telling me that Bruce actually bought you all those things for your birthday a few months ago? Just how rich are you guys?"

Dick laughed. "Hey don't be jealous, fleet-feet. I always share my consoles and TV with you."

Wally rolled his eyes childishly. "You're a really spoilt Prince."

The ebony grinned and threw a handful of popcorn in his mouth, after he swallowed, he answered "You can be my knight in shining armor if that's what you want. And I don't rub it in your face, you just keep asking me questions and I give you answers."

"Sarcastic as ever, I see."

"Don't hate the player, hate the game. Besides, I'm pretty sure you've picked up on some of my sarcastic tendencies haven't you?"

The freckled man shrugged. "You haven't changed at all, Boy Wonder. No matter how tall you get, you'll always be the eight year old in scaly underwear to me."

"For the last time, it was a leotard. Now if I remember correctly, a certain little speedster was blushing so hard, his face was as red as his hair when he first saw me, was it more than a childish crush, huh?" Dick countered.

Wally threw some popcorn at him and scoffed half-heatedly. "You're as bad as the little girl who called me a 'blubbering ignoramus'. Seriously, some of the kids you've recommended are ticking time bombs."

"I think they're adorable. Snapping and being all sarcastic like that."

"Oh yeah? Well, that little girl told me that she'd only be interested in talking to you because you're 'intelligent and a great leader', what am I? Chopped liver?"

"For someone who flirts way too much for his own good, you take some things way too seriously these days."

"I'm better with girls than I am with kids. What can I say?"

"Don't flatter yourself, West."

"Thanks, babe. Always good hearing your supportive compliments" Wally said. He and the ebony were best friends, so using lovey-dovey pet names for each other was more of a joke between them than anything else. It was yet another part of their witty banter that they had.

"No problem, freshness."

The two men focused their attentions to the movie that was playing on Wally's screen for a few minutes, that was until the former Robin's eyes brightened and he turned to his friend. "Wally I have an idea."

"What? Wait, is this a prank or something? Dick, we're in our mid-twenties, we're too-" he was cut off by Dick's hand clamped to his mouth, indicating for him to shut up. The ebony removed his hand and Wally signaled him to continue.

"As I was saying, we should get all the kids we've recruited and tour them around the Cave."

Wally, who had been drinking a can of root beer, nearly spit it out. "What?"

"We should get all the kids we've recruited and tour them around the Cave like the good mentors we are," Dick repeated.

"I heard what you said but I just can't believe it. I mean, are you absolutely sure you want Calvin, Green, Dan and IIeana in the same room as a kid who can mimic animal's abilities, a kid who's basically a ninja and a little brat who has an army of ninjas?"

"Yeah. It'll be good for all of them to be knowledgeable of their own headquarters so why not?"

"But haven't Calvin, Green, Dan and IIeana already seen and toured the Cave?"

"Yep. And do you remember how that last encounter turned out for you?"

Wally grumbled in reply while Dick had a playful smug smile on his face. "What I'm trying to say here is that you need to form a good relationship with these kids, otherwise they wouldn't respect you and how can you be their mentor?"

"Dammnit Grayson, why're you always so good at convincing me to do things?"

"That's just what I do. Now come on, help me sort this out."

"Remind me one more time, why am I doing this?" Wally asked, feeling much like how he felt when the new team first met up.

"Maybe because you can't resist the Grayson puppy dog eyes? And because you love me."

"First of all, you're twenty-five years old. Puppy dog eyes shouldn't work on you. Second, I don't love you. I tolerate you" Wally told him sarcastically.

The two heroes along with Calvin, Dan, Green and IIeana were at the Cave again, this time with Isaac, Keiji and Lilinette. Everyone was in costume and some were even talking amongst themselves (Calvin, Green, Keiji and Isaac, since the others were doing other things). The teens were walking around the HQ and looking around curiously.

Speaking of Lilinette, the girl didn't come alone, one of her 'bodyguards' along with her. From the looks of it, the person (they couldn't tell whether they were male or female) was also in full costume and following Lilinette around. When Wally saw this he opened his mouth to speak but quickly closed it when Nightwing placed a hand on his shoulder and told him it was alright.

"Who the Hell invited a little kid here?" Dan asked, his eyes not leaving Lilinette.

"You uneducated barbarian, how dare you speak to me like that?" The black haired girl snapped. If looks could kill, Lilinette would've killed Dan five times over. But since glares couldn't kill, Dan sent an equally cold glare in her direction. Luckily, Calvin stepped in between them before things could get ugly.

"We shouldn't be down each other's throats like that. We're a team, we should be helping each other at the very least."

Dan was about to say something sarcastic but he was sure he felt Nightwing's gaze behind him, burn holes at the back of his head so he backed down. Lilinette on the other hand, seemed to think otherwise and turned to Calvin. "Who are you supposed to be?"

"The name's Ice, but you can call me Calvin since we're allies about you? You haven't introduced yourself to us yet,"Calvin replied in an even voice.

"I don't usually tell peasants like you my name but since I do feel generous today, I'll tell you. You can call me Nova."

Calvin smiled at the small girl and offered his hand for her to shake, instead the white and gold clad bodyguard beside her shaked his hand instead. "Pleasure. But I must inform you that Miss Nova doesn't shake the hands of those who aren't near her status. Apologies," A voice that obviously belonged to a male explained.

Calvin blinked. Not sure if he should be offended that he'd been called a peasant or if he should...do something else. Luckily, Nightwing saw this and interfered.

"We should be getting things started soon so don't get impatient" he said in a tone that no one in the room wanted to mess with. The teenagers (and child) scrambled to regain their 'cool'.

Nightwing checked on his phone, already expecting a text message from Sel. It was quite nice actually, how the kid wanted to know a about the team and what was happening. Dick thought it was probably because of boredom.

**Little Red: How r things going with ur team?** Dick chuckled at her use of text speak before replying.

**Nightwing: Wally's being Wally again while I had to stop an argument between an 8 year old with a serious superiority complex and a 17 year old boy who's had it rough all his life.**The acrobat typed in, only having to wait for a few moments until he got a reply.

**Little Red: Wait. Ur saying that there's a kid on ur team younger than me?**

**Nightwing: Yeah. But she's more of an ally &amp; has her own team to deal with. Why do you ask?**

It was an unspoken rule that if Sel didn't reply in two minutes, Dick could forget about her replying. Assuming that the twelve year old might've gotten a snack or something, Nightwing shut off his phone and stuffed it into a pocket.

IIeana was typing away at her remote control on her wrist while her 3 drones that she controlled with her remote control, Uno, Due and Tre were 'flying' not to far from her.

From the corner of his eye, Isaac could see a wooden shelf in one of the rooms. _That's weird. Why would Nightwing and Flash have a regular looking shelf in this high-tech cave._

The dirty blonde haired boy let his curiosity take over him and he walked towards the shelf. When he got there, he saw a...strange collection of items. Suddenly, he felt the presence of more people in the room and sure enough, Green, Calvin, Keiji, Dan, IIeana and even Lilinette were there.

"What's with all of this?" Keiji asked, voicing everyone's thoughts as his eyes danced over a mask that had a Cheshire Cat face painted on it. IIeana on the other hand, was studying something that looked like a robotic hand.

"I see you guys have found the souvenirs,"a voice spoke up. Making most of the occupants in the room jump. The red head speedster glanced at the collection of trinkets with a nostalgic smile on his face, Nightwing was as calm and collected as usual.

"You guys collected this stuff?" Calvin asked.

"More like this idiot did, it was kind of a ritual for him to bring back something from the mission and claim it as a 'souvenir,'" Nightwing told them, gesturing at the speedster beside him.

"But why? What is the point?" IIeana questioned.

"They obviously have sentimental value or something like that." Keiji answered, looking at an arrow that looked a bit familiar but he shrugged it off.

"I think it's sweet if you ask me." Green smiled, turning to the two adults in the room.

"Should we collect souvenirs too?" Isaac asked to no one in particular.

Nightwing shrugged. "Only if you want to."

He received a few shrugs, even fewer nods and one grunt courtesy of Dan.

Then out of nowhere, the alarms started beeping and all the lights in the room turned a bright red. "_**INITIATING LOCKDOWN. DANGER DETECTED. INITIATING LOCKDOWN. DANGER DETECTED**_"a monotone female voice spoke. IIeana whirled her head around to the zeta beams and to the entrance of the Cave,

"What's happening?"

"What the fuck?"

"Stay calm. Panicking isn't going to help."

"Let's just break down the doors then!"

"Don't do anything stupid."

"Great. Now I'm stuck with all these unsophisticated animals for the time being."

"Apparently, there's a virus in your system" IIeana explained in a clipped voice whilst glancing at a screen. "I suspect it derived from an intelligent hacker with bad intentions, Nightwing."

The man in return, sighed. Making a mental note to always double check his systems. _Damn_. _I haven't been dealing with this sort of tech in a while. The last time I hacked for fun, I was fifteen and bored out of my skull. But this? Better investigate later. _He thought to himself.

The acrobat looked over the screen and frowned. The virus that had been implanted looked very advanced yet familiar, but he couldn't place his finger on it. He turned to the dark brown haired girl. "Do you have any idea how this person managed to get through the firewalls or what they used to implant the virus?"

IIeana shook her head. "Though I suppose with combined efforts, we would be able to do something about it. Or at the very least, get out of here."

The two then started rambling all about hacking, technology and other...things that made everyone else in the room's head spin. Wally sighed and -tsked-. "Don't bother trying to understand all this mumbo jumbo. Nightwing's been doing these kind of things since he was a little kid and I'm pretty sure she's a genius or something," he gestured to IIeana.

"I don't know about you guys. But when I tried to call someone, the line's been cut off." Isaac commented, staring at his phone as he did.

"Well what should we do now? We're stuck down here for God knows how long." Keiji asked as the alarms, thankfully stopped ringing and the lights switched back to normal.

Dan walked to the metal doors and turned his whole right arm into a hardened stone, the brunet looked ready to break the metal door open when someone stopped him.

"We shouldn't make hasty decisions. You could get hurt that way and that wouldn't end up pretty" Isaac told him, his hand on Dan's shoulder.

The green eyed boy shrugged off the other seventeen year old's old and sneered. "The only thing that won't end up pretty is your face when I'm finished with you."

Isaac opened his mouth to speak, but Lilinette cut him off. She looked up at Dan, her piercing green eyes covered by an indigo-colored domino mask and sneered. "Brutes such as yourself are all bark and no bite. Your I.Q number isn't even a double digit number and your excessive pride surely doesn't make up for it." The black haired child then held up her hand dismissively. "I'm done talking to you. I expected that you were an idiot, but not to this extent."

"Why you little bit-"

Before Dan could continue with his threat, Lilinette's bodyguard cleared his throat, a dangerous aura surrounding him and his hand was on the hilt of his sheathed Wakizashi sword. "If you lay a single hand on Miss Nova, I will have no choice but to cut your hand off. I must inform you that I'm not usually this violent but if you harm Miss Nova, you will not like the consequences, _child." _The man stated in a monotone voice.

"That will not be necessary" Nightwing spoke up out of nowhere, he turned to glare slightly at the white and gold clad man who's expression was unreadable due to his face mask. "I wouldn't want an amputated team member, now wouldn't I?" Nightwing said casually, but no one in the room missed the dangerous edge in his voice. "Flash and I will be contacting Cyborg to help us out while all of you stay here. And yes, that includes you IIeana."

The girl reluctantly nodded and stood from the chair and proceeded to where everyone else was standing in the training room.

"We'll be back soon, we're just in the Cave so look for us if you need anything." Nightwing gave the group one last look that said 'be good &amp; don't maim each other...or else' before stalking out of the room, with the speedster dashing ahead of him.

Dan crossed his arms and glared at the other youths as they watched their 'mentors' leave. "Trust Nightwing and Flash to leave a bunch of dangerous teenagers alone in a room with no guidance whatsoever."

"That's because your rowdy behavior probably made Nightwing sick to his stomach." Lilinette retorted.

"You really do like seeing me pissed off now don't you?" Dan inquired, not seeing the white and gold clad man by the girl's side.

"Don't think that you are worth my time, because you are not. Besides, just because the ninja isn't in sight it doesn't that he is not in this room or that you can actually hurt me."

Dan scoffed and walked away, ignoring the small girl's taunting laugh.

"What do you suggest we do now?" Keiji asked no one in particular."

"Something productive, I assume." IIeana suggested in a monotone voice.

"How long do you guys think Nightwing and Flash will be gone?" Green spoke up. To her surprise, no one gave a vocal answer, some simply shrugged while others didn't bother answering.

Meanwhile, somewhere deep in the Cave, Wally smirked and clamped a hand on his best friend's shoulder. "You left them there on purpose, you little troll."

"It had to be done. If I were there, they wouldn't talk amongst themselves at all. It's not like I can force them to make friends with strangers they just met," The blue eyed man explained.

"So you're risking the chance of them killing each other? They're teenagers, it's expected that there'll be some rivalries between them."

"No you idiot, it's a bit like reverse psychology. And how can they work efficiently as a team if they dislike and don't know anything about each other?"

"You have a point there. But that reverse psychology thing you said there doesn't really make any sense."

"You got struck by lightning and you became really fast. How does that make sense?" Dick countered.

"Not so clear about the details but it has something to do with the Speed Force."

"Can't you just focus on trying to contact Cyborg?"

"Fine. But I have a question."

"Shoot."

"With Cyborg's help, don't you think we could get out of here sooner?" Wally asked his best friend as he typed in a code.

"Obviously. But like I said, it's a good bonding experience for the kids."

"Doesn't that sound a bit cruel?"

"It does but what do you want me to do? Go on a road trip and have them sing songs and get all friendly around the campfire?"

"That's a better idea than locking us up in the Cave," Wally grumbled.

"Might I remind you that the virus came from an unknown source and none of this is my doing?"

_He did have a point there,_ Wally thought. "I never will win an argument against you, won't I?"

"Nope. No offense, dude."

"Offense taken."

Meanwhile, the teens were now sitting in a circle on the floor after a few arguments and tension. Calvin, feeling the need to step up as a 'leader' decided to play a game of 'Truth or Dare' with his teammates and allies.

"I don't get the point of this game. What will we receive in return if we play?" IIeana asked, the girl didn't quite see the 'logic' in Truth or Dare.

Keiji rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I guess it's like a team bonding exercise or something like that."

IIeana didn't seem satisfied with the answer but kept quiet. Green offered her a small smile but the dark haired girl looked straight ahead with a stoic expression.

"Does everyone know how to play Truth or Dare?" Isaac asked.

Surprisingly enough, Lilinette shook her and tilted her head to the side, a look of confusion on her face. "The game itself sounds self explanatory but I have never 'played' such before since it is beneath me to participate in such inelegant games. Now might I ask, why do people such as yourselves play _this_ game when there are so many more enjoyable things to do?"

"Well what do you suggest, princess?" Dan snorted.

"If you must know, every weekend or so, I play Polo at my grandfather's mansion with my private trainer. I also enjoy traveling around the world in my private jet, on second thought, maybe on my yacht." Lilinette explained. "Oh, and maybe private island shopping. But it's not like you people would appreciate yet alone be aware of the fine aspects of living."

The teenagers gaped at her for a moment before Dan said something that spoke all their thoughts at that moment. "Just how filthy rich are you?"

"That, I am not sure." She replied.

Keiji then cleared his throat. "Now that we have covered what the kid likes to do for fun, should we start the game now, Calvin?" The bright red haired boy wouldn't admit it out loud but he didn't quite like 'Nova' or whatever her real name was. He hated who were full of themselves. This girl looked like the living embodiment of the word 'stuck-up' and he wanted nothing to do with her, no matter how old she was.

Calvin pulled out an empty glass bottle he had been using earlier to drink his water and set it in the middle of their circle. "The rules are simple, the bottle is spun and whoever it lands on has to pick between truth or dare. No asking of really personal questions or do anything that'll get us killed...or worse, in trouble."

Isaac noted that Calvin sounded like he made a reference to a movie that he didn't know the name of, he kept quiet about it as soon as the older boy spun the empty, glass bottle.

The brown haired eighteen year old spun the bottle and sure enough, it pointed directly at IIeana. "IIeana, truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"Have you ever got sent to detention?"

"No. I never went to a normal school," IIeana replied. She took the bottle and spun it quickly. It landed on Isaac.

"Truth or Dare?" The sixteen year old asked.

"Truth." How bad could these truths be?

"You've never told us your alias as a hero. What is it?" IIeana stated, saying the first thing that came to her mind.

"While on the field, you can call me 'Fang'."Isaac answered with a blinding smile. He span the bottle and it landed on Green. "Embarrassing truth or even more embarrassing dare?"

The girl bit her lip anxiously. She wasn't sure if the boy was kidding but she didn't want to embarrass herself. "Truth."

Dan rolled his eyes. 'Team bonding' wasn't his style and this 'game' was so boring he would rather argue with the little midget all day, at least that was a bit of a challenge. He interrupted the fifteen year old before she had the chance to speak. "This game is going nowhere. None of you are picking dare and frankly, your questions are putting me to sleep."

"In that case, why don't you do a dare,"Keiji shrugged.

"Fine then. Who's gonna give me one?"

"Isaac is the last one who answered. He should be the one to give Dan a dare," Calvin stated since Green technically didn't get to answer.

"I dare you to do a perfect cartwheel," was the sentence that Isaac blurted out.

"You seriously don't expect me to do that."

"The rules are rules, Dan," Calvin shrugged.

"I personally think this dolt is too scared to do something as simple as a cartwheel,"Lilinette proclaimed.

"Fine,"Dan answered through gritted teeth as he stood up. Refusing to look weak he placed his hands on the ground and lifted his legs up...only to end up falling on his face with a loud _thud._

Silence filled the room before a giggle flew out of Lilinette's mouth. The other teens watched as her giggles turned to a full blown cackle and they started laughing as well.

The seventeen year old sent them a glare but they paid him no mind since they were either not-so-subtly chuckling or laughing their asses off. So he huffed and returned to his original spot between Green and Keiji.

"Could we get on with it already?" The teen asked impatiently, still a bit embarrassed but didn't show it.

"Okay. Dan, spin the bottle," Isaac said.

The brunet spinned it quickly and it landed on Calvin. Seeing this, Dan smirked, already having the perfect date for the eighteen year old. "Truth or Dare?"

Calvin sighed, might as well make things exciting here. "Dare," he replied, already regretting his decision when he saw the smirk on Dan's face.

"I dare you to say 'says you' after every sentence Nightwing says."

"Pardon me?" Calvin sputtered.

"You heard me. I dare you to say 'says you' after every sentence Nightwing says. So if he's debriefing something, you have to say 'says you' loud enough for him to hear."

"No way. Can I get another dare?" The eighteen year old asked hopefully.

"Unless you want to make-out with someone in this room then nope," Dan shrugged, not even trying to hide his grin.

"But you can't do that," Calvin protested.

"The rules are rules, Calvin~" Dan chimed in a sing-song voice, obviously mocking the older boy's statement earlier.

Calvin didn't quite have a good argument to that so he sighed. "Fine."

Green gave him an apologetic gaze whilst he spun the bottle, it then landed on Lilinette.

Before Calvin could even ask, Lilinette spoke up. "I pick dare."

The eighteen year old raised an eyebrow at the much younger girl (ten years to be exact). "You sure?"

He met a piercing stare under the girl's silver domino mask. "Of course. I am sure I can handle whatever task you give me. Plus, I am not obligated to share any personal detail of myself with any of you barbarians. So I choose dare, you nitwit."

"I dare you to show off your powers."

"And why would you want to see that?" She asked, something sounding like _disgust _creeping into her voice.

Calvin opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by Dan. "Why are you even here? You don't look too special to be honest and from what we can tell, you're nothing but a selfish brat," the boy spat.

"Speak for yourself, you nuisance."

Dan scoffed. "At least I have powers and can actually do something. What about you? What can a prissy princess like yourself do, other than whine about everything?"

Even behind her domino mask, everyone in the room could feel her heated glare. The girl then stood from her place between IIeana and Calvin. "I won't waste my time telling you. I'll just show you."

"Kid," Isaac said slowly. "What are you planning to do?"

The white and gold clad ninja jumped from what looked like the rafters, getting down on one knee before Lilintte. "Cayden?"

His head snapped up when he heard the girl call him by his real name. "Yes, Miss Nova?"

"Spar with me, and don't even think about holding back."

With a curt nod he got up and out of nowhere threw three throwing knives at the girl, who dodged them easily. He then sent a flying kick which Lilinette blocked, grabbing his left foot, she flipped him over. The man then hit the ground but did a back roll just in time to dodge Lilinette's axe kick.

The girl did a front aerial simply because she liked to show off, before delivering a roundhouse kick to the man's face.

In a blink of an eye, his body came in contact with the girl's elbow and she smirked, extending her leg to kick him straight in the face. When he staggered backwards, she flipped to avoid even more throwing knives, once she was near enough, she swiped his feet from underneath him and he hit the ground hard. She then approached him and placed her boot-covered foot on his chest, facing the teenagers who's eyes widened.

"I am sure that this is enough proof that I am more than capable of being on this team."

Most of the occupants in the room were surprised that the kid could actually fight. The girl then brushed her bangs away from her face and grinned triumphantly. "You did good, Cayden."

"Thank you Miss Nova," he nodded before turning around and going back from wherever he came from.

"Where did you learn how to fight like that?"Green exclaimed.

"If you must know, I have had my own personal instructors and martial arts masters since I was a toddler. I do run a legion of vigilantes so of course skill is my top priority."

"Aren't you a bit young to do that?" Calvin asked.

"So? I never let my age get in my way," Lilinette responded.

"If you think about it, aren't we all too young to be heroes?" Isaac said.

"I guess. But Nova said so herself that age shouldn't get in the way," Calvin answered.

"I agree. But didn't Nightwing become Robin when he was only eight years old?" IIeana said, having researched a few days prior.

Dan shrugged. "To be honest, I don't know a lot about that guy. He seems happy and cheery on the outside but I can't help but feel he's hiding something."

"How could you say that? Nightwing's the leader of the Justice League and was the first young kid who ever became a hero," Isaac said in protest.

"I didn't know you had a crush on Nightwing, fanboy," Dan teased.

"What? I don't have a crush on Nightwing."

"Aren't we forgetting about the game?" IIeana pointed out.

"Come to think of it, we did forget about the game," said Keiji.

The two teens were ignored for the most part, the others not really caring about the game.

"That game was shit to begin with," Dan said, although she was silent, Lilinette agreed.

"Why don't we just do something else? Maybe we can play twenty questions or something," Keiji commented.

"There are too many of us to play twenty questions," Isaac said.

"Then just ask the first question that comes to mind," someone muttered loud enough for everyone to hear.

Keiji turned to look at Dan. "I don't mean to be rude but why are you always so snappish and sarcastic?"

"Because I am," Dan replied with an eye roll.

"What is something you hate?" IIeana asked simply.

"Boy bands," Keiji stated.

"Heights," Dan said.

"Bullies,"Calvin responded.

"People who have no class," Lilinette replied.

"Horror movies," Green told them.

"Dancing," Isaac shrugged.

"What kind of underwear are you wearing?"The dirty blond asked the ice-powered teen.

"I'd rather not answer that question."Calvin responded, flushing slightly. "So are we just asking each other questions now?"

"That's what it looks like. But it's not bad, I guess," Green shrugged.

"You got that right. Hey kid, mind if I ask you something?"Keiji questioned.

"You will address me as Nova," the eight year old sighed. "It is beneath me to answer your question but since it looks like I have no choice in the matter, you may."

"What's your favorite color?"

Lilinette have him an expression that said 'really?' but replied anyway. "While white, gold and silver are all extravagant colors, I must pick black since it does match the color of my soul."

Keiji blinked. "Were you joking or being sarcastic?"

Lilinette huffed at the accusation. "Neither."

The youngest member of the group then faced IIeana. "I do have to admit, you aren't as stupid as most of the poor excuses of human beings I encounter everyday."

lleana raised an eyebrow."Thank you?"

"If you guys could have any superpower in the world, what would it be?" Green asked, directing her question to the non-meta humans (IIeana, Lilinette and Keiji)

"I honestly don't know how to answer that," Keiji replied. "There are a lot of cool powers to choose from so I can't possibly pick," the dark red haired teen said quickly. The seventeen year old seemed to talk fast so at times, some couldn't understand what he was saying.

Calvin turned to the girl sitting beside him. "What about you, Nova?"

"Don't humor me. I for one, have no need for special abilities such as increased strength, speed or flight. I trained hard to achieve my status as the leader of The Blurs, become stronger and defeat my enemies. I do not wish to risk anything I have in order to receive a strange ability that I will most likely hate or will become more of an inconvenience than anything. It is beneath me and my pride to strive for such mundane things. And. That. Is. All."

lleana tilted her head to the side, thinking about it before she answered. "I would have the ability to manipulate probability. For example, how much of a chance would I be able to defeat a certain villain? With my ability, I would manipulate the statistical probability of that happening or anything I want to happen to one hundred percent."

"That's really smart,"Isaac remarked, impressed.

"I know I might get in trouble for asking this, but Nova, what is your honest opinion on Nightwing and Flash?" Isaac questioned.

"I commend you for asking an insightful question and not a completely irrelevant one," the girl nodded. "I personally think Flash is an idiot dressed in a ridiculous monstrosity he calls a costume. Not to mention, he doesn't take anything seriously and is an overall bonehead."

Calvin gaped at her. "You feel really strongly about our leaders, why did you even accept their offer when you thought of them that way?"

The girl sneered at him. "I never said anything negative about Nightwing. In fact, he's quite the total opposite of Flash, I simply do not understand why they are friends. Nightwing is an intellectual individual and certainly deserves respect not only because he had founded the 'Titans' but also because he had went from being a sidekick to a League member. I do not know about you hooligans, but someone like Nightwing is indeed deserving of my respect and indeed appreciation as well."

Calvin nodded. _Maybe she wasn't heartless_ _after all. _

_"_Keiji, what should we call you when on the field? And what kind of music do you listen to?"

"Switch. Loud heavy metal,"the bright red haired teen replied.

"I'm not good with giving questions," the teen admitted."So, what state were you born in?"

"I was born in Memphis, Tennessee but I moved to San Diego when I turned two," Isaac answered.

"So how exactly did Nightwing find you?" Isaac asked Dan curiously.

"I saved him from a burning building and gave him medical attention," Calvin answered curtly, as if recalling a fond memory.

As if on cue, Nightwing walked into the room with the red clad speedster right beside him. Said speedster's jaw hit the ground when he saw that no one was screaming their lungs out on the floor in pain, no one looked like they needed therapy for the rest of their life and that nothing (from what he could see) was broken. Nightwing mumbled a quiet 'I told you so' but it was enough for Wally to hear and the red head scowled (he didn't pout, he was a man!)

"I see all your limbs are intact," Nightwing chuckled as he walked towards the teenagers who were now getting up from the floor.

Calvin sighed before saying, "Says you" under his breath. Unfortunately, he had to do this dare.

Nightwing raised an eyebrow but didn't comment on it. "The systems have been fixed for the most part so we'll be out of here soon."

"Says you," Calvin said, making some of the teens (who simply didn't give a shit)chuckle. Nightwing gave him a questioning look.

"Anyways, I'll be sure to contact you all for mission debriefing and whatnot," the ebony haired hero told them.

"Says you."

"Be ready and don't be late."

"Says you."

The acrobat's eyebrow twitched under his mask and he turned to the brown eyed boy who squirmed under Nightwing's gaze even if it wasn't a glare. "Calvin, what are you doing?"

Calvin then cleared his throat, deciding to tell him the truth before something bad happened. "We were playing truth or dare," he began.

Nightwing gestured him to continue, knowing exactly where this was going. "And?"

"I picked dare and Dan dared me to...you know" Calvin explained.

To the teenager's total confusion, Nightwing laughed and ran a hand through his ebony hair. "Oh God, that's terrible."

"Y-you're not angry?"

"Why would I be? I remember when I played Truth or Dare when I was a kid, not only did I end up with three broken fingers, but my pride and dignity suffered the most," the man sighed.

Nightwing then turned to Dan and grinned. "Nice dare, a few more years of practice and maybe you'll be as good as me."

"Sorry. I'm not really interested in dressing up in spandex and flipping around," was the sarcastic reply that made the twenty-five year old roll his eyes. The brunet then walked away.

Nightwing saw a streak of bright red and Wally was standing beside him, a concerned expression on his face. "What did Mr. Sarcasm say to you, Wing?"

The ebony smiled at his friend. "Nothing too serious. Just teenagers being teenagers."

"You sound like a parent whenever you talk about these kids," the green eyed man pointed out.

"Maybe I do, Maybe I don't," came the reply.

_**BREAKLINE**_

Alissa whipped her head around to see a black and silver haired boy behind her with his arms crossed. The blonde girl simply sighed and looked down at him. "What do you want now, Shyler? The last time I checked, you claimed you were 'extremely busy.'"

The black haired speedster scoffed and sent a glare in her direction. "And the last time I checked, you weren't that big of a bitch, so I guess we both changed, now haven't we?"

The girl's left eye twitched slightly but she calmed herself down. As much as Shyler annoyed her (not as much as Wren did), he was indeed an asset to her group of teenage villains. So maybe splitting the very ground he was standing on and trapping him underground with heavy boulders wasn't the best thing to do.

"Well, what do you want then?" Alissa asked impatiently.

Shyler looked at the ground sheepishly and shuffled awkwardly. "Is there any possible way that my mother _won't _find out about me being a teenage speedster turned villain?"

The older girl had an immediate response. "What you need to understand is that people like you and I don't need family," she said coldly before continuing. "Some of us have power that mere humans can only dream of having. We are powerful, making us independent, because that is the way things should be. Family distracts you from your goals, Shyler. That is why your mother and every other person you care about are irrelevant. It is about time that you leave her permanently before your emotions get the best of you and you become weak."

Alissa paused for a few moments to think. The boy in front of her was oh so silent, so she continued. "Furthermore, it's important that you understand that loyalty is very different from love. I need your loyalty in order to make our plans successful. But love not only makes you weak and stupid, but it shatters you completely. It's disgusting and robs your rational thinking until you finally realize that you have _nothing _left because you wasted it all on _love. _Don't take this personally Shyler, but if you really want to be on this team, then I suggest you figure out where your loyalty lies, understand?"

Shyler was taken aback. He was aware that Alissa was a bit on the mean side but he wasn't expecting the girl to be so heartless. Sure she's a villain and all, but not to this extent. Not having any words to say, he nodded before stalking out of the room with an unreadable expression, leaving Alissa with a small but satisfied smirk on her face.

As Shyler left the room, he ran a hand through his messy black and silver hair. He mentally cursed Alissa and her ability to mind-fuck people when they would least expect it. Not only did she have the power to cause earthquakes and control the element of earth, but she was also very intelligent and manipulative.

"Is there something wrong? You seem a bit...stressed out,"an awfully sweet voice called from behind him. The thirteen year old turned to see Amethyst or 'Amy' right behind him.

"Oh it's just you,"Shyler sighed, looking at the girl. Today she was wearing her civvies, a sundress, some ballet flats and a yellow bow in her hair, they never really did wear their costumes in their HQ unless Alissa told them to, which wasn't quite often.

Amy faked a pout. "Aren't you happy to see me?" She asked.

Shyler nearly rolled his eyes. "You don't have to pretend to play sweet and innocent around me, Amethyst. No offense, but from what I've read about you, you're kind of sick. You play with people's feelings and emotions with your magic for no apparent reason other than your own amusement."

"What kind of person would do that, Shyler?"

The boy scoffed. "Someone like you. Isn't it obvious? You turned yourself into a cute teenage girl, catch Wren's attention and you find fun in seeing him gawk at you. You're gonna break his heart if you keep messing with his emotions and pretending to like him back when actually, you don't care about anyone but yourself."

"And you really believe that I would do that?"

"Yes. You seem like the type of person who would."

"You don't have to be so blunt all the time, Shyler. You could get in trouble that way," Amy chirped.

The teen crossed his arms. "I don't really like sugarcoating things."

"Well, you should try it sometimes." Amy told him, then blew a kiss at him before snapping her fingers and disappearing in a puff of pink smoke, making Shyler cough a little.

The boy sighed. _Why the fuck did his 'teammates' have to be annoying little shits who couldn't get a clue? _Shyler then turned right and he bumped into someone, sending them crashing down on the floor. Looking down, he saw that it was Nikole, the nerdy looking girl Shyler decided was the most normal out of all of them, which wasn't saying much since they really were a freak show.

"Sorry. Didn't see you there," Shyler said honestly as Nikole quickly stood up, the blonde girl giving him a toothy, yet reassuring smile.

"It's fine." She replied curtly. "Now what's wrong with your face?"

"Excuse me?"

"What I meant was, you seemed a little irritated. Did Amy do something to you?"

"How'd you find out? She finds joy in seeing me irritated but acts like a total sweetheart in front of everyone, especially Wren. But since that guy is the most gullible person I've ever met, of course he crushes on that little bitch."

Nikole snickered. "Let's not forget that 'Amy' is technically a guy who just transformed himself into Wren's dream girl. Also,'little bitch' is a huge understatement, Shyler considering I've done my own research and found out that 'Amethyst Hexx' is one Hell of a nut-job that should be sent to Arkham Asylum in a staitjacket. But Alissa thinks having a magic-user around would be good for this team so we're stuck with her."

"Enough about her, she creeps me out and makes me sick to my stomach from what I know."The boy shuddered. "What's up with you Nik?"

"Me? Nothing much. Just planted a virus into a certain Justice League member's new systems."

"Nightwing's?"

"Who else? Word is that Pretty-Boy has a new sidekick squad and recruited a girl who's technology skills are on par with mine. So I wanted to check out the competition and see how well she does her job. But from what I've seen, Nightwing took care of most of it so I couldn't check out my competition. Nevertheless, I do have a plan."

"Well, good luck with that."

"Thanks. But I don't think I'm going to need it."

**BREAKLINE**

"How many times have I told you to focuson your opponent and nothing else? You know better than to do anything stupid on the field yet you not only didn't kill your targets but let's not forget that you directly disobeyed me. I trained you to be the _perfect_ assassin, not a _child_."

The child flinched at the man's harsh words but didn't say anything. When the man saw this, he grabbed the child by the collar of their dark uniform and lifted him up in the air with one arm as if he only weighed a few pounds. The tall phantom that was his master then gripped on them tighter and his cold stare burned into the young child's soul.

"Failure is not an option. You are not a _child. _You are an assassin and an assassin trained by _me. _I expect only the best results from you" the armored man stated before harshly dropping his 'protégé' to the ground.

The dark haired youth, who wasn't wearing his mask at that time, so his face was visible, clutched his side in pain. Yep, he was sure he broke something in his body from the mission earlier, he chose to ignore the stinging pain but bit his bottom lip to keep himself quiet about it.

The dark clad man looked down at the boy and sighed, the sound of his heavy metal boots hitting the cold floor echoing through the lair. "Get to sleep, boy. But don't forget, tomorrow you'll be receiving the most exhausting training you'll ever receive in your life as a punishment."

"Y-yes M-master," the small boy stuttered. The child's dull blue eyes were glued to the floor, he spat out the blood he had in his mouth on the ground and weakly stood up, exhaustion taking over his body. The man didn't spare him a look and the boy shakily limped to his room, hearing his master walk out of the room, probably to finish his mission.

Once the pale boy arrived in his 'room', which had no windows whatsoever, a single lamp, a dresser, a twin-sized bed and a door to a bathroom. He peeled off his now shredded and bloodied uniform and went straight to the shower. The child stayed there for quite some time before drying himself, wincing whenever he accidentally touched one of his wounds that didn't quite heal properly. He changed into a plain white shirt and some black shorts before laying on the bed, his eyes feeling heavy from exhaustion while his heart felt even heavier.

Right then and there, choking on a whimper. He does something he swears he's not ever going to do again for the rest of his life, no matter how much it hurts.

He cries. Letting the dam of emotions flow after bottling them up for so long. After going through so much pain, the young boy couldn't take it anymore. He then decided that he _hated_ his life, he hated being raised as a cold-hearted killing machine and nothing else.

Burying his face in the pillow, he lets more tears fall. The boy wasn't one to cry but now it couldn't be helped, it was only a matter of time until he reached his own breaking point. The physical pain was bad, but the pain in his heart was much worse.

He didn't know how long he cried, and he didn't care. But from all the exhaustion, both physically and emotionally, he cried himself to a dark, nightmare-plagued sleep.

**Thank you guys so much for all the ideas you gave me! I don't know anything about hacking or advanced technology if you were wondering. (Does an I Phone count as advanced technology? Nope,It does not.) **

**(Another) IMPORTANT NOTE: I am thinking about changing the title of this fic, I am not completely sure but I would like to know what you guys think, you can even request some titles if you want but I can't guarantee that I'll use them.**

**Anyways, don't forget to review, see ya next chapter!**

**-BirdsSpeedandArrows xx**


	11. Chapter 11

Bit** of a filler chapter, but I swear on my love for Dick Grayson you'll meet 2 new team members in the next chapter.**

**Special thanks to 'Roy's lost arm' (guest) for being the 50th reviewer. Thank you all so much!**

"So how exactly did this happen, again?" The red head sighed, rubbing his temples and already feeling a headache. His green eyes looked over at the teenagers who were either standing there awkwardly, trying to come up with an explanation or avoiding Wally's gaze completely.

What was the reason behind all of this? Well right at this very moment, Wally was staring at Nightwing. That was completely normal right? Wrong, Wally was staring at a miniature, two and a half foot tall Nightwing, who was staring back at him with (thankfully) masked eyes. Yep, _the_ Nightwing has been deaged to a five year old.

Breaking the awkward silence, Calvin spoke up. "I'm to blame for this, it's my responsibility to look out for the team but since I couldn't do that, Nightwing had to step in and _this_ happened."

"Don't sell yourself short, Calvin," Green reassured. "The villain we faced had magic on his side and we all know magic is hard to deal with."

"Are all of his memories still intact?" Wally asked. The last thing he needed was a scared five year old kid sobbing for his parents instead of their fearless leader. The green eyed man was tempted to hit his head against the wall but refrained himself from doing such. His best friend had been deaged many times before this so he was used to it, but it didn't mean that he liked it one bit, no matter how cute the ebony was.

"He didn't seem to be scared of us when we brought him back here," IIeana explained, "If anything, he was very quiet and didn't utter a single word."

Under his cowl, Wally raised an eyebrow. Dick Grayson was quiet? He never thought he'd live to see the day. Anyways, his now tiny best friend's curious stare made him squirm like he was under the famous 'bat-glare'. Although the five year old didn't seem to have bad intentions, Wally could feel those baby-blue eyes pierce into his soul. A shiver went up his spine as he knelt down to the kid's level. "Hey, kid," he began. "Do you remember me?"

After a moment of silence, the boy nodded. "You're the Flash!" He exclaimed excitedly and Wally found it nearly impossible not to grin at that. I mean come on, his best friend in the entire world was now a tiny little kid, dressed in one of his older Robin costumes nonetheless (the ones with tights instead of the green underoos of course).

The teenagers behind him watched the scene with interest. None of them had really seen how Nightwing was like in his earliest days as Robin since they weren't old enough to remember, or haven't been born yet for that matter. Green watched with a small grin, she always did like little kids.

"We honestly didn't know what this guy could do," Isaac piped up. "He was dressed in this really..._bright_ outfit that looked like he belonged in some kind of freak show."

"But he didn't seem like a serial-killer type despite how weird the warehouse looked like,"Keiji added.

IIeana kept a straight face on. "Nightwing was zapped whilst trying to protect us from this strange man," she explained.

"Can anyone give me a full report?" Wally asked, ruffling Nightwing-no, miniature Nightwing's ebony hair.

Calvin then cleared his throat to speak. _This was going to be good, _Wally thought as he started listening.

_ It was their first mission, quite a simple one actually, investigate a few of the abandoned warehouses on the outskirts of Central City and give a full report once finished. Unfortunately for the six_ youths_ (Lilinette not being able to attend due to 'other issues'), things were much more complicated than they had expected._

_ "I can't believe this is our first mission," Dan scoffed. "We're basically doing whatever dirty-work the Justice League doesn't want to do."_

_ "It's our first mission, what do you expect? You want us to stop evil aliens from destroying the world?" Keiji asked, his hand on the hilt of his katana in case something would attack._

_ "At least that would be more exciting that this," Dan said, turning his right hand into stone for a moment simply because he was bored._

_ "Don't jinx it, God knows what'd happen if evil aliens actually attacked at this very moment," Isaac half-joked._

_ "The probability of that happening is close to zero," IIeana stated._

_ "We shouldn't be arguing about this," Calvin interrupted. "We should just focus on the mission."_

_ "We weren't even arguing, golden child," Dan snapped. "We were having a conversation."_

_ Calvin ignored him and lead them towards the warehouses. "We should all go together, we can't risk someone getting hurt." _

_ They walked into what looked like a scene from a cliché action movie, dimly lit warehouse, boxes at every corner and dust bunnies to top it all off. The teenagers all split up to investigate._

_ As one would guess, there wasn't much to be seen in most of the warehouses. Hell, the most interesting thing that happened was when Green found a stash of empty pistols (Dan actually checked to make sure they were all empty) in one of the dusty boxes that looked like they've been sitting there for twenty, maybe thirty years. _

_ "Can we go now?" Dan asked impatiently. "Personally, I'm done playing clean-up-crew for the day."_

_ "There's still one more warehouse we have to check," IIeana reminded him, her three drones 'flying' beside her._

_ "I highly doubt there will be anything there other than what we've already seen," the brunet replied._

_ "It's still part of our mission, so we have to check it out," Calvin told him._

_ With an exasperated sigh, Dan followed the other teenagers into the biggest warehouse in the area. _

_ To their initial surprise, this warehouse was different from the rest. There were flimsy, paper streamers hanging from the ceiling, shredded posters covered the walls, broken windows that left shards of glass on the floor and old children's toys were scattered everywhere. The whole building was accompanied by a gust of cold wind that made some of the teens shiver._

_ "Anyone having goosebumps here or is it just me?" Isaac asked, looking around._

_ "It's an odd collection of items, isn't it?" IIeana inquired._

_ She received noises of agreement in return, Isaac knelt down to the floor to inspect a ratty teddy bear stuffed with...bullets? The teen stared at it in disgust. Who in their right minds would stuff a children's toy with bullets? Well the place was abandoned and all but that action was messed up all on it's own._

_Green had found what looked like a Jack-in-the-box toy that when the little song it played was finished, a little beheaded figurine holding a knife would pop out. Isaac on the other hand, was studying a plastic toy car that when touched, would give an electric shock (he had learned that the hard way). While IIeana looked at a plastic baby doll which was covered in red paint and was missing an eye, it's left arm and it's right foot._

_ "This place is giving me the creeps," Isaac announced. "We have enough info already, should we get back to Nightwing?"_

_ "You're leaving already?" An unfamiliar voice echoed. "But we didn't get to play yet!"_

_ The youths whipped their heads in the direction where the voice was coming from. They saw a strange man, probably in his early thirties or so, wearing a red and blue tie-dyed 'business' suit, he wore neon yellow boots and not to mention his orange and green bleached hair. He basically looked like a wannabe Joker who painted himself to look like the rainbow._

_ "Who are you supposed to be?" Dan demanded._

_ The man chuckled like every cliché villain you could find. "I was informed that the Justice League would visit, instead I get a bunch of little kids in colorful costumes."_

_ "Speak for yourself, you look like a unicorn threw up on you," Isaac said._

_ "And what's with the warehouse? How unoriginal could you get, circus freak?" Dan sneered._

_ The man's face tightened into a scowl. Apparently, comments coming from a bunch of teenagers made him angry and whip out his weapon of choice...a tiny laser gun. Dan scoffed, Isaac held back a laugh, Green, Calvin and Keiji were confused and IIeana just crossed her arms._

_ "That's your weapon? A puny laser gun?" Dan asked incredulously._

_ "We shouldn't underestimate him," Calvin stated. "God knows what that...thing can actually do."_

_ Calvin's statement was brought to life when the brightly colored man pulled the trigger of the laser gun and shot at them, they dodged on instinct just in the nick of time._

_ "What the Hell was that for?" Dan fumed._

_ The man however, have him no answer as he zapped at Keiji, who deflected the hit with his katana, sending the beam to bounce off and hit a few boxes nearby, causing a small explosion._

_ "Dodge the zaps as quick as you can!" Isaac yelled over all the noise._

_ The man was now shooting blindly at them, making the teens run around, dodge and take cover wildly. No one wanted to risk trying to get close to him, Isaac supposed he could mimic a bird, fly and kick the weapon out of the man's hands but decided against it when he thought it was too much of a risk to take._

_ Suddenly, a blur of black and blue jumped into his sight. Isaac's eyes widened once he saw who was right in front of him._

_ "Nightwing? What are you doing here?" Green asked in confusion._

_ "Did you guys really think I'd let you go on your first mission without any guidance?" Nightwing asked, eskrima sticks at the ready._

_ "Are you saying you don't trust us?" Dan snapped._

_ "I do trust your individual skill sets, but in case something bad happened, I would be there to help out," Nightwing replied, flipping away from the pink zaps sent in his direction._

_ Dan opened his mouth to say something but the older hero beat him to the punch. "I'd love to talk, but can this wait? We're in the middle of dodging lasers here."_

_ Frost started spreading across the room, courtesy of Calvin freezing the beams sent his way. One of lleana's drones aimed it's own laser at the man but he sent a shot in it's direction as well, the drone flying away from it at the last second. Meanwhile, Green (with her goggles still on her face) deflected the beams with her two short swords (just how fast was this guy that he could shoot that many beams at once?)_

_Everyone was in a frenzy trying not to get themselves zapped. An unexpected zap sent in both Isaac and Keiji's direction made them stagger backwards, bumping into Green and making her slip on some of Calvin's ice trails, making the blonde knock into Dan, who bumped into Nightwing. Time seemed to slow down for a few moments as the bright pink zap hit Nightwing. The teens watched in surprise and or horror as Nightwing dropped to the ground, unconscious._

_ "Yes!" The neon colored 'villain' yelled triumphantly. "While it was fun, I'm afraid I have to go now!" And in a blink of an eye (and a 'small' explosion) the man was gone._

Once Calvin finished explaining, his gaze never left the tiny, dark haired hero standing in front of him.

"I am concerned what happened to the villain. Despite our efforts, he still escaped," IIeana stated.

"Don't worry about it. I've just received intel that this 'circus freak' as you have called him has now been taken into custody by League themselves curtesy of Green Lantern," Wally assured.

"We could've handled him ourselves," grumbled Dan.

"How're we supposed to cure him?" Green questioned. "He's cute, no doubt about that. But we can't have a five year old lead us."

The kid seemed to be having a (slightly hushed) conversation with a certain red-clad speedster. Said speedster whispered something in the boy's ear that made him giggle and Green couldn't help but smile at how cute their leader was as a kid.

Calvin watched as Mini-Nightwing stared back at him with curious eyes behind his domino mask. "Who are you?" He asked innocently, surprising most of the occupants in the room who thought that their leader would remember who they were and what was going on.

"Y-you don't know who I am?" The eighteen year old asked hesitantly, he too was surprised.

"I recognize you from somewhere...but I don't know where," the five year old admitted.

"So he _does_ have his memories but some of them are a blur," Isaac commented.

"No shit, Sherlock," Dan said, crossing his arms as he watched the scene before him. The small boy _insisted_ that The Flash play a game of 'hide and seek tag' with him, but oddly enough the speedster complied and told the kid to hide.

"You shouldn't swear in front of kids, Dan. You could leave a bad influence," Calvin chastised.

"So? Nightwing's been deaged but it doesn't mean he's actually a kid."

Calvin sent him a warning look, which Dan ignored completely.

Meanwhile, the small child walked around the Cave as if it were a museum. His attention drifting from one thing to another due to his short attention span. He remembered that he had to look for a hiding place soon so he dashed off before Wally could finish counting.

Once Wally finished counting to fifty, he was met with the questioning gazes of six teenagers. With a sigh, Wally started to explain. "I know this might come off as a shock to most of you but it isn't something to worry about. Nightwing's been deaged countless times before. It's just that I didn't expect this to happen right now...on your first mission to be exact."

"So if this has happened before, then wouldn't you know how to cure him?" IIeana questioned.

"It's not as simple as that, sometimes, the technology used is way too complicated and we can't exactly experiment on a little kid. Magic is even tougher since none of us know how to use it," Wally stated.

"Isn't there anyone in the League who can help?" Isaac asked.

"Most of the lower-ranking League members don't even know you guys exist, so we can't tell them. I guess the best choice would be having to wait for Zatanna to come back from her mission. For now, we wait and observe."

"Well that's just convenient," Dan remarked sarcastically.

"Wait a minute, aren't we supposed to be playing hide and seek with the kid right now?" Keiji interrupted.

Wally muttered what sounded like an 'oh shit' under his breath as he zipped (literally) around the Cave looking for the tiny acrobat. The six teenagers stared at him for a few moments before he stopped in his tracks. "Well what're you all waiting for? Go look for him."

Calvin shrugged, _how hard would finding a little kid in a game of hide and seek be?_

Apparently, finding a small child in a game of hide and seek was ten times harder than Calvin had thought. The child was a little ninja! The rest of his teammates thought the same thing as they looked around to find the red, yellow and green ball of energy.

Sometime later, the teenagers were still searching for their missing leader, Isaac had checked all the bathrooms, IIeana searched the bedrooms while everyone else were opening random doors and calling out 'Nightwing!'.

After another half an hour of searching, the youths were about ready to give up, that was until Green and Dan (the whole group decided to split up) heard a childish voice yell from the rafters. "Hey! You guys are cheating! You're not supposed to be paired up, that's unfair!"

The fifteen and seventeen year old looked up to see the traffic light colored child they had been searching for this whole time sitting comfortably up in the rafters.

"Nightwing, how did you get up there? Get back down, you'll hurt yourself!" Green tried reasoning.

The ebony tilted his head to the side childishly. "Well, how do you expect me to get back down if you don't want me to hurt yourself?"

"Goddamnit kid, just get down from there!" Dan yelled.

The small boy let out a string of laughs that sounded more like evil cackles that made goosebumps appear on both teenagers' skins.

"Did he just cackle?" Green asked. "If he did, he does it better than most villains I know. And that's a scary thought," the blonde shuddered.

"Kid, if you want to get yourself killed, be my guest. But the Justice League would have my head if they found out that I let their leader die," Dan said.

With one last giggle, the boy sprang from the rafters and down to where Green and Dan were standing, using the seventeen year old as a makeshift spring board, the child somersaulted into the air, landing on the ground gracefully. "See? I'm an acrobat, it'll take more than a jump a few feet in the air to kill me!"

"A few feet? Those rafters are fifteen feet high! If you haven't died, you would've severely injured yourself!"Dan shouted.

The five year old gave him a grin that his own adult self would be proud of. "So you _do_ care about me, you really are a big softie at heart, you know that?"

Dan nearly sputtered. "What?"

Green chuckled quietly as she watched the scene. The kid was right, no matter how rude Dan tried to portray himself as, al human beings had their soft spots. She suspected that his was little kids or something (no matter how many times he wouldn't admit it).

Mini-Nightwing pulled out a smoke bomb out of nowhere and threw it on the ground, disappearing as he did so. (Seriously? What was up with people always disappearing in a puff of smoke?)

Once the smoke cleared, a flash of red appeared, indicating Flash being there. "Did you two happen to see him?"

Green nodded. "We did, but he threw a smoke bomb at us and disappeared."

The older man sighed before thanking them quietly and zipping away as fast as he did earlier.

Wally on the other hand, _had_ actually come across the small acrobat before losing him. Mini-Nightwing had somehow found the control-room, pushed all the buttons he found to be interesting and almost blew up the entire cave if Wally hadn't interfered.

Keiji and Isaac on the other hand, had little to no luck whatsoever in looking for the small child. The same could be said about Calvin and IIeana (in which the latter had sent her drones out just to look for the deaged hero.)

The six of them had bumped into each other some time later, no one said a word as they entered the 'lounge' room.

The scene that they were welcomed with was...odd but cute to say the least. The red clad man was sitting on the couch with the shrunken Nightwing's head on his lap. The kid looked to be fast asleep, judging from his soft snores.

"He's so cute!" Green exclaimed, apologizing when Wally shushed her.

lleana raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "He doesn't look that much different right now then he was as an adult. If anything, he looks exactly the same, only smaller and more energetic."

"So, how long has he been asleep?"Isaac asked. "More importantly, when and where did you find him?"

"The air vents, his favorite hiding spot. Should've realized it earlier but the last time that this has happened was around two years ago."

"That's...good to know," Green replied, not knowing what exactly to say.

The boy stirred in his sleep and mumbled something too quiet for anyone to hear. The red head's expression shifted to one of concern. "Birdie? You alright?" He seemed calm on the outside but on the inside, he was chanting '_please don't have a nightmare, please don't have a nightmare, anything but a nightmare.'_

Thankfully, Wally's prayers were answered and the boy blinked his eyes open underneath his mask. "Wa-I mean Flash? Is that you?"

Right before Wally could answer, a flash of blinding white light filled the Cave followed by a loud thud as the now fully grown Nightwing hit the floor, groaning slightly as he did. Thankfully, he was now wearing his usual Nightwing costume and the old Robin costume he wore was long gone.

"What just happened?" He questioned, rubbing his head.

"You were deaged to a five year old," IIeana, Calvin, Isaac and Keiji said simultaneously.

Nightwing blinked at them, waiting for someone to say 'gotcha!', but it never came. He stood up and faced Wally, sending him a look that said 'we're definitely talking about this later'.

"The cure to Nightwing's deaging problem was just sleep? How would've thought?" Isaac remarked.

Nightwing then snickered. "For how long was I turned to a kid? And what exactly did I do?" He then ran a hand through his messy hair.

"You were a kid for a couple of hours, five hours at the most. I gotta say Nightwing, you did wear us out completely just trying to look for you in a game of hide and seek."

"Is there something you're not telling me?"

Most of the teenagers gulped in response, it was no use trying to hide something from Nightwing. He was raised by the world's greatest detective after all. To their shock, it was Flash himself who revealed everything.

"You left us in a frenzy trying to look for you, nearly destroyed the Cave and almost got yourself killed, all in a matter of a couple of hours to be exact," Wally listed off as if those events were the most normal things ever.

"Anything else?"

"Nope. To be honest, you weren't as destructive as I thought you would be."

**BREAKLINE**

Amy grinned as she watched Nightwing, Flash and their little team in their little cave. It didn't take much for her to see what they were doing, a simple spell opened a portal-like hole, surrounded by violet-colored light, and she was able to watch them like they were on television.

In fact, she had been watching them all day, starting from the kiddies' little mission facing off against that amateur 'villain' that Amy could care less about. Though she had to admit, Nightwing looked _adorable_ as a little kid.

"What're you watching, Amy-Cakes?" A voice interrupted, the girl was tempted to roll her eyes. Wren was a huge pain in the ass, but she supposed it was worth it since he would do _anything_ for her.

"Oh nothing," she replied in faux innocence. "Just Nightwing and company."

"That's what Alissa wanted me to tell you," Wren said. "She said something about getting ready to face off Nightwing and the rest of the Justice Club once and for all. Corny choice of words if you ask me."

"Oh? Alissa already decided to make the next move? It's quite too soon for that in my opinion."

"Orders are orders," Wren shrugged. "And don't you wanna see Nightwing and his crew dead? After all, they are heroes," Wren told her, saying the word 'heroes' like it was poison.

"Although seeing them dead sounds great, I have a different goal in mind."

"And what's that, sugarplum?"

Amy turned around and stalked out of the room, closing her little portal. "You'll find out soon enough."

**BREAKLINE**

"Master? You have called for me?" A timid, shaky voice asked. It had been a few days since his 'punishment' and he was still torn up about it. Nevertheless Master trained him, sharpened his skills and improved what needed to be improved.

The man's piercing gaze was enough to make the child feel uncomfortable, the boy shuffled on the balls of his feet awkwardly and the man sighed. "_Child_, if I sent you on a mission to _kill_ somebody, would you do it?"

The dull-eyed boy contemplated the question for a moment before deciding on a simple answer. "Yes, Master."

The older man's glare narrowed. "If I ordered you to bring _Richard Grayson_ back here _alive. _Would you do it?"

The boy's head snapped up when he heard _that_ name and he grit his teeth together. "Yes master," he said, though both of them knew that the dark haired boy wasn't very sure with himself when he answered that question.

"Very well," he sighed. "Have you done what I have told you to do?"

"Yes Master, all the work that you have assigned is now complete."

"Good. You may return to wherever you came from."

"Thank you Master," the boy said before turning to leave the room.

"Oh and before I forget-" the armored man called, making the child turn back to him. "Keep your senses sharp, _child_. I have been studying this _odd_ power for quite a while now. Strange things have been happening lately so do try not to get yourself killed."

The dark haired boy tilted his head curiously. "What kind of power, Master?"

The male sighed exasperatedly, the child always seemed to ask questions. He could appreciate that sometimes but most of the time it was childish. Nevertheless, the boy's skills in weaponry, hand to hand combat, stealth, intelligence and so much more made up for any flaws personality-wise. "It's an _odd_ power, to say the least. Could possibly the power of a magical being, a demonic being or possibly the devil himself. I know from experience that involving yourself with beings from other worlds would only result in trouble...or your own death."

"What are you planning to do, Master?"

"For the meantime, keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary. If this _thing_ does something drastic we will watch the heroes deal with it."

The boy fought the temptation to roll his eyes_, just how could he keep an eye out for things when he wasn't even allowed to leave this place_? "But Master, what if the heroes can't handle it?"

The phantom chuckled at the boy's naïvety. "That will all be explained in due time, _child_."

-To be Continued-

**Don't forget to review, tell me what you think! Next chapter coming soon! **

** Oh, for all you Birdflash shippers, it'd be cool if you checked out my new 'story' (which is actually a collection of Birdflash prompt fills so if you're in interested in that, go check it out if you want :D) **

**See ya next chapter.**

** -BirdsSpeedandArrows xx**


	12. Chapter 12

**Here's the latest chapter for you all! This chapter was supposed to be longer but I made some major changes and other things.**

**A massive shout out/thanks to AsgardianGrizzly for being so amazing, supportive and a total life saver :) Thanks so much, lovely! **

**Characters belong to their rightful owners. Hope you enjoy!**

Dan contemplated with himself whether it was a good idea to physically hurt someone because of this. He wasn't a big fan of the cold weather and being in a large ice section didn't really help with that.

The brunet cursed everything as he followed the other teenagers and their mentors, trailing up the snow like. They were bundled up in 'the best cold resistant clothes you'll ever wear' and Dan had contemplated on turning his whole body into stone so the cold wouldn't be such a bother anymore. Also, walking in the snow had proved to be a huge pain in the ass when said snow was a few inches higher than ankle length.

The team was a bit reluctant to go on this mission considering their first mission had resulted in some...unusual consequences. However, Nightwing had managed to convince majority of the teens by simply shrugging and saying something along the lines of 'I guess you guys don't wanna prove that you really are heroes and that you're willing to take on anything that comes in your way'.

Lilinette was present this time though her 'bodyguard' was nowhere to be found. The youngest member of the group had come prepared with her own clothes for this mission (big surprise) and claimed that they 'were the best cold resistant clothes money could buy'. Her statement made both Keiji and Dan roll their eyes.

"Are we there yet?" Dan asked impatiently.

"Don't be impatient," Calvin said. "We're almost there."

"But where exactly is 'there'?" The seventeen year old queried irritatedly.

"Be patient, little ones," Nightwing chided, holding up this tracker-thing in his hand. "There've been traces of magic around this area and we have to investigate."

IIeana raised an eyebrow. "How are you sure that this is 'magic'? Does such thing even exist?"

Wally made a -tsk- sound. "We've been heroes longer than most of you have been alive. We now what we're doing, trust us."

Nightwing chuckled. "Ask Flash himself, that hypocrite, when we were younger, he didn't believe in magic at all."

Lilinettespoke up, "What I do not understand is that why we have to travel all the way to Canada for one single mission."

Isaac shrugged. "Maybe the Canadian superheroes were all busy."

"How can there possibly be magic _here_?" Lilinette gestured at the section of ice they were in. "Other than us, I do not see any other life forms."

Dan couldn't agree any less, although Lilinette was the living embodiment of the word 'brat' she actually did have a point, plus, she hadn't insulted anyone directly for an hour, new record.

Nightwing sighed and Wally noted how fatigued the younger man looked. Only two days ago, they both had been on an off-world League mission, it was particularly exhausting for Nightwing, being the one in charge of everything. Wally had told him to take it easy but Dick being his usual self, was stubborn as always.

Green noticed this too and Wally had to commend the fifteen year old for being so good at reading people. "Are you okay, Nightwing?"

He offered her a small smile. "I've had worse. Don't worry about me."

It was then that Nightwing's device started beeping loudly, indicating unusual activity in the area. "That's strange."

"What is? Are there any strange signals nearby?" IIeana asked curiously, her drones at the ready beside her.

"Yes. But they're not exactly signals, some strange unidentified magic is involved."

Before Lilinette could comment on the absurdity of the notion, Nightwing signaled the youths to follow him. Running on the ice proved to be a trickier task than they had originally thought, even with the boots on (with the exception of Calvin, he _did_ have ice powers after all.)

The device started beeping louder and Nightwing picked up his pace, the others trailing closely behind him.

Isaac, who was behind Nightwing at that time, nearly bumped into him when he abruptly stopped. The blonde teen stared in awe at what was in front of her, most of the others having similar expressions on their faces.

In front of them was a tall ice-berg. That was normal all in itself but what surprised them was that Nightwing's device was beeping so loud, the noises could be heard from miles away. The ice had a crack in the middle, a ray of light shining through it. The crack then started to expand, the light getting brighter as well. Green's eyes were shielded from the light due to her goggles but the light was too bright and the others weren't as lucky.

After a few moments, the sound of ice cracking filled everyone's ears and a blurry figure could be seen inside the iceberg. Green's eyes widened, _there was a person frozen in the iceberg._

The ice cracker once more and a final blinding light made everyone shield their eyes. Wally, who was the first to recover, took a look at the figure.

He saw a man-no a _teen _who looked no older than nineteen with a greyish skin tone, somewhat wavy black hair that goes to below his jawline. His eyes were closed so Wally couldn't get a good look at them. He wore black leather pants with black knee high lace up boots, a dark brown leather vest over a maroon long sleeved shirt, and a dark long sleeved jacket that goes back down to his knees with burnt orange on the collar.

The teen fell to the ground on his knees and he seemed to be in a groggy-like state. Everyone in the group was staring at him with shock or curiosity.

The boy then pointed to Keiji. "You there, young mortal! What realm is this? Where am I?"

Nightwing approached the boy silently, making him look up at him. "Do you know where you are? Do you remember anything?"

"Why should I tell you anything, mortal?"He snapped.

"Relax, we aren't going to hurt you. Just come with us and we'll answer your questions if you'll answer ours," Nightwing explained.

Flash ran beside his friend, the speed he was going at made the black haired teen's eyes widen. _The man was as fast as a lightning bolt...maybe even faster_

"You there, are you a mortal? You possess the speed of a god yet you dress in such ridiculous clothing."

Hearing what the teen had just said, Wally didn't even try to hold in his groan. "Another kid with a superiority complex and insults me? This is all your fault, Birdie."

The rest of the speedster's words were cut off by none other than Lilinette, who looked less than impressed at the gray skinned teen. "You talk about yourself as if you're something special, but you're nothing more than a delusional half-wit. I don't even know why I bothered to go on this mission when I could've been doing more significant things."

The teen's eyebrow twitched at her statement. "I did not know that little girls like yourself could be so rude. Are you lot _sure_ that we are on Earth?"

Nightwing stepped a bit closer, his expression as calm and collected as ever. "I can assure you that we're on Earth and that we-" he gestured to everyone, "aren't going to hurt you."

The teen still seemed unsure and his eyes widened once more when he caught a glimpse of one of IIeana's drones. "What in the world is this place?" He questioned, everything was getting crazier and crazier by the second.

"We'll tell you everything you need to know if you come with us," Nightwing offered in an even tone, not wanting to confuse the teen even more.

The teen considered it for a moment but he hesitated, feeling a sense of danger around him. These weren't normal human beings and this clearly wasn't anywhere near where he lived. "Why should I trust you?"

Wally rolled his eyes at the stubborn teen. "We told you that we would answer your questions later. But we have some questions of our own, kid."

The teen frowned at his choice of words. "I'm not a kid! I am in fact older than all of you combined! I have seen and experienced things that mere mortals are incapable of even dreaming!"

The statement earned a raised eyebrow from Wally. "You look like you're about eighteen or nineteen at the most, I'm twenty-eight."

The grey-skinned teen flinched violently when Dan took a step closer. "Don't go any closer!"

Dan ignored his warning and turned his right hand into solid stone, looking back at Nightwing lazily. "Can I knock some sense into him at least?"

Sensing danger, the teen muttered a spell quickly and with a flash of colors, Dan's hand turned back into normal flesh. The brunet' eyes widened and he tried to turn it back to stone but found that it was nearly impossible. "What the Hell? My powers aren't working!"

Calvin tried to use some of his ice powers but no ice came out. Isaac ran around in attempt to imitate a cheetah but only succeeded at running at a normal pace. "Our powers aren't working!"

"You don't say, now don't you," Dan quipped sarcastically.

"Where am I?" The once-frozen teen demanded once more. "You people are clearly insane!"

"Speak for yourself, hot-shot," Dan defended.

"Enough with all this arguing," Calvin said sharply, saving Nightwing from saying the exact same thing. "We aren't here to fight."

"Tell that to Mr. Avatar over there," Isaac joked.

"Avatar?" IIeana asked confusedly. "What's that?"

"It's some old cartoon about this kid who got frozen in the ice and who's destined to save the world since he could control all the four elements," Calvin said, being a fan of movies and TV shows, he had a pretty good idea of these kinds of things.

"What in the world are you mortals talking about? What is this 'cartoon' you speak off?" The dark haired teenager demanded, getting ready to use his magic once more against these bizarre humans.

Lilinette rolled her eyes. "You really are stupid aren't you?"

Dan silently agreed with the eight year old. "Are you from the 19th century or something?"

The dark haired teen glared at them. "Don't talk to me as if I'm a child! I possess the power to kill you all in a blink of an eye!"

Lilinette then pulled out her Wakizashi sword and pointed it at the teen. "Listen here you dullard, I have a proposition for you. If you tell us who you are and everything that we need to know, I won't force my sword down your throat."

Before the teen could speak, Nightwing sent a warning look at the girl. "Nova, stand down."

The girl frowned but placed her sword back at its sheath, which was resting on her hip. Nightwing really was the only person she listened to without any snarky comments involved whatsoever.

Nightwing turned back to the boy and crouched down. "I swear on my life that we aren't going to hurt you. Like I said earlier, all your questions will be answered later on."

The boy held out his hand and muttered an incantation, sending Nightwing flying backwards. The ebony caught his footing and eased his landing with a back handspring.

"What the Hell is your problem?" Wally snapped. "He just told you that he wasn't going to hurt you!"

"Shut up!" The teenager yelled, slowing down Wally with his magic when the speedster zipped towards his friend. It made Wally falter a little but it didn't do much.

_ My powers aren't as strong as they were before_, the dark haired teen thought to himself. _What exactly is happening? Just who are these people?_

Keiji took the opportunity to unsheathe his katana and prepared to swing at the sorcerer. His attempt was proved futile when the teen raised his hand once more and sent Keiji stumbling backwards and bumped into Isaac."What the-" he exclaimed in surprise. "He's even stronger than we thought!"

Despite his 'weakened' state, the reptilian-like eyed boy couldn't help but sneer. Little did these mortals know that the power he was using right now, was only a fraction of his real power. "Foolish mortals," he muttered loud enough for IIeana to hear.

"Are you implying that you're not a mortal?"

"Of course I'm not a mortal! I'm a sorcerer who has traveled to countless other realms!"

Nightwing made a mental note to research on these so-called 'realms' as Wally sped beside him to make sure he was alright. "I'm fine, Flash. I've had worse."

The speedster frowned and helped his friend up. "What should we do now? We're totally getting our asses kicked by this kid."

"Not necessarily," Nightwing replied. "If you haven't noticed, he's weak right now. Any second he could pass out and we could take him back to base."

"Won't that be bad for him? Waking up in a new place and all? It's pretty obvious from the way he talks and acts, he's not from here."

"We'll get to that later on. But for now, we have to help the team."

Wally nodded and dodged a spell (could he even call it that?) aimed at him. The teenager was still on his knees and his breathing was heavy.

After a string of incantations that the team had managed to avoid, the teen had gotten noticeably weaker. He had stopped with his spells and Nightwing and Wally had went closer, giving instructions on not crowding the magic-user.

"What's your name?" Wally questioned, now that the boy was slipping unconscious. "Can you at least remember that?"

"Rumple..." The teen muttered before finally knocking into unconsciousness, hitting the ice quite hard, but not hard enough to make it painful.

'Where have I heard that name before?' Nightwing mused to himself. "We should take him back to base."

"You're going to take a strange teenager you just found back to base? Doesn't that count as kidnapping?" IIeana queried.

"Yeah, doesn't it also count as smuggling or something like that?" Dan added.

Keiji shrugged. "Do you have any other ideas?"

Isaac shook his head. "It's not like we can just leave him out here in the open."

"So we might as well bring him to safety," Calvin finished.

"Now that our frozen friend is settled in. I suggest you guys get on the ship as well," Wally said to them. "We're about to leave soon."

On the trip back home, Lilinette was typing furiously into her cell phone while Calvin and Green had sent worried glances in her direction whilst Nightwing had been watching her cautiously.

Nightwing rubbed his temples. Contrary to popular belief, Lilinette was actually still a child but due to her proud nature, everyone viewed her as a cocky brat. He had been taught at a young age that he shouldn't judge a person unless you have seen things from their perspective, the ebony then sent a look in Wally's direction. The other man completely oblivious to the thick tension in the air.

Nightwing groaned and quickly dismissed the idea of banging his head on the nearest hard surface. _Maybe getting things to go smoothly for the team was much harder than he had originally thought._

**BREAKLINE**

_** 2 Days Later**_

Wally took a sip of his drink before resting his hand on his chin. He had not one but two utterly exhausting missions this week and quite frankly, his sleep schedule was more messed up than ever. The first mission being an off-world league mission that lasted about the second (obviously) being his trip to the iceberg with Nightwing and the teenagers.

To top it all off, work as Wally West at STAR Labs was also taking a toll on him. Dakota hadn't shown up in a while and although he was suspicious, he shrugged it off, she was probably on leave and no one bothered to tell him. He then decided that he needed a drink or two to calm his nerves down, although he couldn't actually get drunk, a change of scenery would be nice, one of the nicest places in Central City would do just fine.

"I didn't expect to see you here, Wally," a familiar voice called. Wally turned around hesitantly, _could it be? No, it couldn't possibly be..._

Once he did turn around, he saw that familiar long, dark-red hair and smile, that exact same smile he had grown accustomed to seeing to every time he had walked into the Cave.

_M'gann._

It really was her, M'gann Morse, standing there right in front of him with a polite grin.

"M'gann? Is that really you?"

"Mind if I take a seat next to you?"

Wally shook his head. "I don't mind at all. But what're you doing here?"

In truth, he really was surprised to see her. The last time he had seen her it had been a year ago when the JLA had teamed up with the Justice League International to defeat yet another alien invasion. M'gann, being a member of the Justice League International for about two years now.

"I'm here in Central for work," she replied, brushing a few strands of hair out of her face. "How have you been Wally? It's been a while."

The green eyed man felt a small pang of hurt in his chest when she had said that._ 'It's been a while'. _Whenthe team had separated, it really was only Dick and himself who had actually kept contact. Nothing had really changed between the two of them.

The others, it was the sad truth that they didn't really talk to each other a lot. Even though M'gann was an active member in the Justice League International and Nightwing checked on that group constantly, they never really did talk to each other anymore.

She grinned at him, taking a small sip of her drink before doing so. "You're doing great, Wally. I'm happy for you, how's Robin doing?"

He had felt another sting of pain at the mention of 'Robin'. During that time, Dick had been the one everyone had to protect, he was the youngest, the smallest and he didn't have any powers. Everyone always made sure he was okay,now ten years later Dick was the one doing that. Funny how things change over time.

"M'gann, Dick isn't Robin anymore. Hasn't been for years."

Her face softened and she flushed."I'm sorry, I didn't mean to call him that. It's just that I was so used to calling him Robin and..." she trailed off. Wally could understand where she was coming from, those two years have been some of the best years in his entire life and he was sure M'gann had felt the same.

"It's fine. Dick is doing great, we just got back from a mission a few days ago." He purposely didn't include the details of the 'team' and felt terrible about it. M'gann had a right to know but he couldn't bring himself to tell her about it, it was far too soon and even an idiot could tell that neither of them wanted to talk about any touchy subjects anytime soon, in a bar nonetheless.

Thankfully, M'gann didn't push him for details instead she giggled softly. "You know, I always had this thought at the back of my mind that you and Dick would make a cute couple."

"Where the Hell did that idea come from, Miss M?" Wally asked, not realizing that he had called her by her old nickname. The auburn haired girl noticed but she chose not to comment about it.

"It's just that you two are pretty much inseparable, that's all."

Wally rolled his eyes. "How's the Justice League International?"

The woman noted how Wally changed the topic and grinned. "Good as always, Wally. In your words we're 'kicking bad guy butt'.

He had chuckled at her joke and it made him think about all those times all of them had spent together in the Cave. Little flashbacks of him stuffing his face with junk food and Artemis yelling at him for it, M'gann baking cookies, Conner watching static continuously, Kaldur always being the one having to clean up whatever mess Dick and himself left behind and all the good times and bad times they've spent together as a team. '_That's just what we do,' _he mumbled.

If he was being completely honest with himself, he still had doubts about this new team. He knew that he was being totally unfair, selfish not to mention immature but he couldn't even count the number of times they had argued in the past few weeks that they've been a team. Dick was a naturally happy person and Wally just didn't want him to get hurt. It was Dick who had wanted to recreate the team in the first place and the red head didn't want him to feel upset that 'he had failed the team'. Despite his happy nature, the ebony would always blame himself when things went wrong, and that was the last thing Wally wanted to happen. Again, he would do _anything_ rather than to see his best friend hurting.

M'gann who had noticed the other red head stare into the distance, waves her hand right in front of his face. "You okay there, Wally? You're spacing out."

Seemingly, waving her hand in front of his face did the trick and he snapped out of his trance. "What did you say, M'gann?"

"You spaced out on me there. Is anything wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong, M'gann. Just a little tired that's all," the freckled man assured.

"Then I guess you should get home now, Wally. It's getting a bit late."

"You shouldn't worry about me, Miss M. I'm a grown adult now, I'll be fine. But yeah, I think I'll be heading home now."

"Be careful Wally."

Wally sent her a grin. "You know me, M'gann."

"And that's precisely why I worry,"M'gann muttered quietly, watching as the once fifteen year old speedster she had befriended ten years ago. She sighed to herself. _Has it really been that long since the team was formed? Time flies so fast._

_ 'People grow up so fast', _she thought to herself, her mind immediately shifting to Robin-wait no, **_it was Nightwing now_.**

**BREAKLINE**

Jason swore that if Dick ever told him to 'sneak in' somewhere one more time, he would tell him to_ fuck off _because this wasn't worth it. Currently, he was sneaking into his 'older brother's' apartment through the tiny ass window Dick had in his bedroom. Jason wasn't the stealthiest person in the world and he was over six feet tall, so trying to fit himself through was a hard task. The twenty one year old had somehow managed to squeeze through the window and swiftly landed on the bedroom floor louder than he would have liked.

The dark haired, green eyed man wasn't surprised to see the state of the acrobat's apartment. It was relatively clean but nowhere near Alfred Pennyworth's kind of clean. But one thing's for sure, just from the bedroom he could tell that this place screamed Dick Grayson. Everything from the fake flowers in the glass vases to the picture frames he had on his bedside table.

"Nice of you to show up, Little Wing. I was starting to worry that you wouldn't come." Dick called out, leaning on the doorframe of his bedroom, dressed in a band t-shirt and some black sweatpants.

"Skip the pleasantries, Blue Bird. Tell me why you want me here." Jason demanded impatiently.

"It's about Sel," Dick stated, catching Jason's full attention right away like he had expected him to. Jason might seem like a heartless, violent anti-hero on the outside, but he really was a softie at heart (well, at least sometimes).

"We've been over this, Dick."

"Talking about it over a phone doesn't count, Jay-bird."

"Well what do you want me to do about it?" Jason snapped.

"Why do you think I called you here in the first place?"

The anti-hero's eyes widened in realization."You set me up, you dickhead!"

As if on cue, a certain twelve year old entered Dick's bedroom, making Jason freeze. "What's wrong Blue Bird? What's up with all the noise?" The brunette girl spoke up.

Upon seeing his 'little brother's' expression not hidden behind his hood, the first Robin chuckled under his breath.

"J-Jason?" Sel stuttered unsurely. Were her eyes playing tricks on her or something? She blinked at Jason and he stared back. Silence consumed before Sel did something Dick hadn't expected.

At a speed Wally would be jealous of, she was in front of Jason and wrapped her arms around his torso and pulling him into a bone crushing hug which made the man wheeze a little.

"Jason?"Sel asked, looking up at the man who's expression softened slightly at seeing his protégé for the first time in weeks."Calm down, kid. I was gone for a few weeks, not years."

Sel didn't seem to hear (or care for that matter) and hugged him tighter, only pulling away when Dick claimed that Jason was about to lose oxygen.

"Are you injured? Do you need anything? Did anything happen?-" the girl rambled on as the leather jacket clad-man didn't even try to hide his small grin. It made Dick's heart swell that Sel really did care about Jason and Jason had a soft spot for the kid. The second Robin cut off her ramblings with a cough.

"What are you doing here, Jason?"

"A certain someone," Jason paused, glancing at Dick before continuing, "set me up and now I'm here."

"How's your mission going?" Sel asked curiously.

Jason rolled his eyes. "Don't even fucking talk about it, kid. I've been as busy as ever cause those bastards running around like they own the fucking place," Jason replied, he always did have a habit of swearing a lot when stressed out.

"What about you, Selastine?" Jason asked, ruffling her caramel brown locks.

"Peachy, and for the last time, call me Sel," she replied. "How long are you planing on staying?"

"Yeah, Jason," Dick piped up. "How long _are_ you staying?"

Jason shrugged. "As long as I can without you two driving me insane."

Said two gave him identical Cheshire-cat like grins that nearly sent a shiver down Jason's spine. "Fine. I'll stay as long as I can if Kor'i and Roy don't call me back soon. I did promise I'd beback in a few days."

Dick offered him the signature-Grayson smile (it was starting to creep Jason out that Dick was smiling a lot more than usual) before he clapped his hands together. "Great! I have another guest bedroom right across mine and you can borrow some of my clothes while you're staying."

Jason scoffed. "Thanks for the room and all but your clothes are already way too tight for my taste." He then smirked as he looked down at the man. "Besides, I'm taller and broader than you now, Blue-bird."

Dick shot him a dirty look. "Hey, it's not my fault you had this massive growth-spurt and now you're 6 feet tall!"

"Six feet and two inches, actually," Jason corrected.

"That's not the point!" Dick yelped as Sel chuckled, watching the two men argue like normal brothers would was quite a sight.

The youngest occupant of the room cleared her throat, "It's so adorable when you guys argue. Even if you are only adoptive brothers, you argue like real brothers do."

That statement made both men look in her direction. Jason's gaze hardened. "Did you just call us...adorable?"

"Yep. There are only a few things in the world that are more adorable than brotherly love."

Jason looked at Sel, then back to Dick, then to Sel, then to Dick once more. The blue eyed man gave him a look and Jason sighed. "I know I left you with Dick for quite some time now, but I didn't expect you to be so weird already."

Sel's face morphed into one of mock offense. "If anyone here is weird, it's you."

"Oh really?" Jason said dryly. "We'll see how'll be laughing when I kick your ass."

"Like that'll happen, Jason. You like me too much for that."

"In your dreams, Selastine."

"It's Sel. S-E-L, how hard is that for you to understand?"

"-Tch-. I can call you whatever I want."

"In _your_ dreams, Jason."

"I could mop the floor with you, midget."

"I'm not a midget, I'm just small!" Sel countered, mumbling a curse word under her breath when she realized that she actually insulted herself.

Jason noticed this and laughed at his frowning protégé like the mature person he was. "Serves you right."

"Hey, that was uncalled for, Jason."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, kid."

It was Dick's turn to watch the two interact. _This'll never get old_, he thought to himself, wishing that he had a bowl of popcorn with him.

**BREAKLINE**

"Master, when do you plan to send me to kill Nightwing?"

"I'm not planning on sending you to kill Nightwing, I am assigning you the task of bringing Richard Grayson to me. Is that so hard for you to understand?"

The boy sighed. By now, he was already used to listening to his master's blunt comments and rants. "My apologies, Master. But when?"

The tall man chuckled darkly. "Not too far from now, child. But we will have to wait. There are some children you have to deal with before you capture Nightwing. Think of it as a little clue for the heroes."

"Does that mean you want me to kill Nightwing's troop of super powered teenagers, Master?"

"Not yet, my apprentice. I meant the other group of teenage brats I've asked you to observe once."

Under his mask, the boy had his eyebrow raised. "The wannabe 'villains'? They're the least of our problems, Master. They are just pubescent delinquents who think that they're so amazing because they have strange abilities, I will be sure to eliminate them immediately."

"Patience, child. As of now, they call themselves 'The Rebellion' and are killing only to get the attention of the Justice League. I can't say I'm surprised though, they _are_ children after all."

The boy held back a snort at the name. 'The Rebellion?' Just how unoriginal and childish could teenagers be? He shuddered in fear when he realized that he too would be a teenager in a few years. "So what must we do apart from waiting, Master?"

"I am not to do anything other than train you to be the best child assassin I expect you to be. _You_, on the other hand should start studying up on magic. Find the kinds of magic, demons and everything on that sort. We will need to know all that we can about it if we intend to start our next course of action."

"Understood, Master."

**Okay so I'd like to inform you all that I've already arranged the sequence of things and all the major plot points are already set. So I have a lot of work to do but I look forward to it. **

** Oh yeah,super special thanks to ****Kara Zor-El Girl (Guest) for being so sweet! I woke up seeing all your reviews and they put a smile on my face so thank you. That's all I have to say so...**

** See you all next chapter!**

** -BirdsSpeedandArrows xx**


	13. Chapter 13

Sel bit back a grin as she followed the ebony, ducking in the shadows like she had been taught to do so. Sure she wasn't a 'Bat' like Dick or Jason (yes Jason was a Bat, whether he admitted it or not) but it was worth a shot.

"I know you're there, Sel," Dick said, not even looking at her direction. The girl sighed and left her hiding place.

Sel frowned dejectedly, _so much for stealth_. "How'd you know I was there?"

"I'd answer that question, but I think you already know the answer," Dick chuckled.

"Let me guess, it has something to do with you being a 'bat' or being trained under Batman, am I right?"

"Exactly," he chirped. "But I'm curious as to why you are hiding in the shadows in the first place."

"It's for training purposes," Sel replied a bit too quickly to be considered casual. "Jason told me that I need to practice doing that more."

Dick raised an eyebrow. "Did he mean hiding in the shadows or training? I hardly ever see you train."

The girl stuck her tongue out at him childishly. "I _do_ train, it's just that you're too busy with your boyfriend to watch."

"Wally's not my boyfriend."

Sel smirked, this conversation going _exactly_ where she wanted it to be. "But I didn't say anything about Wally. I could've meant _anyone _but you automatically denied that it was Wally."

"This is why I regret telling you things."

She sent him a cheeky grin. "Don't worry about it, I don't gossip so you can trust me."

Dick ruffled her hair and sat down on a stool in his kitchen. "You're a trustworthy kid, I know."

"So do you still regret telling me about your problems?"

"Hmmm...Yes. You're kinda obsessed with my personal life, it's creepy."

Sel looked genuinely surprised at the accusation. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Dick rolled his eyes, taking a sip of his coffee. "Don't try to deny it, the reason you've been trying to hide in the shadows earlier was because you wanted to see if I was hiding something. And don't you think I've noticed you following me around the city while I'm in civvies? You might be a kid, but it's still weird and more importantly, illegal."

"What do you expect? My mentor is an anti-hero who literally came back from the dead, controls the crime underworld and is on a team with an orange alien princess and a ginger archer who is in fact, your childhood best friend. You really shouldn't be surprised that I'm the way I am."

"Where is Jason anyways?"

"He's still asleep. Like you, he's also a bit of an insomniac so he left last night and came back at around four in the morning."

"You're one to talk, you get like four hours of sleep everyday."

"Yet I still manage to have _so_ much energy."

"You virtually _live_ on sweets and candy," Dick smoothly retorted.

"Better peanut butter cups, bubblegum and taffy than caffeine, old man."

"True," he agreed. "I guess we're all hypocrites now aren't we? Still, I can't believe that you eat that much sweets and still be perfectly healthy."

"Like I said, I _do_ train regularly and eat right whenever you're not home, Boy-Wonder."

"Can't disagree with that," he said. "What've you been up to lately?"

"Nothing much, I'm in here all day so there isn't a lot to do."

Dick rolled his eyes at her. "Don't give me that 'innocent bystander who didn't do anything wrong' act. I know you sneak out when I'm not around. Can't say I can blame you though, there really isn't a lot to do around here."

Sel stared at him questioningly. "You aren't mad?"

"You're responsible and you can manage on your own. Jason's trained you well and you're no masochist."

"Thanks, what about you? Everything alright?"

Dick nodded, taking another gulp of the bitter magical liquid substance. "Anything else you wanna say, Sel? Small talk isn't really your thing."

"Yes, I was actually wondering why you haven't been getting a lot of sleep lately," Sel pointed out seriously. "I know your work with the JLA and your team has been taking a toll on you but that isn't healthy."

Dick stared at her for a second and sighed. "Nothing ever passes you, huh?"

"I can't help but be observant."

"I can see that. But I can assure you that I can take care of myself, Sel. There's no need to get worked up about it."

Sel shook her head. "You're not gonna get out of this that easily, Dick. You gotta get some rest if you want everything to go the way you want them to."

"I'll try, and I know you'll make sure that I get enough sleep otherwise I won't hear the end of it from you."

Sel nodded reluctantly and held her right pinky in front of him. "You have to pinky-swear on it."

He held his own finger and pinky-swore on it. Remembering that he did the exact same ritual when he was a kid. "I pinky-swear, cross my heart, swear to die and stick in a needle in my eye. That good enough for you, Sel?"

The brown haired girl nodded, mentally noting exactly what the acrobat said. "Well in that case, will you tell me a story?"

"What kind of story?"

"One about your sex life."

The ebony nearly spit his coffee out and choked on it, coughing violently. "Excuse me?"

"You heard her right," a voice piped up from behind them. Jason was standing there casually, his hair still a mess and holding his own mug of black coffee. "Selastine over here, has a twisted sense of humor, one that makes people really uncomfortable," he said, trying to repress his laughter.

"Aren't you a little too young to know about these kinds of things?" Dick questioned. "What exactly did Jason tell you?"

"Hey don't put the blame on me for this," Jason defended. "She asked Roy the exact same question once and he encouraged her."

"So you're telling me that Roy corrupted a twelve year old child?" Dick nearly face-palmed.

"I was eleven at that time," Sel corrected.

"Because that's so much better," Dick said sarcastically. "You two are so much alike, it's unreal."

Sel cocked her head to the side, feigning innocence. "What do you mean?"

"Oh you know exactly what I mean, Sel," Dick replied, setting his now empty Nightwing mug (it was a gag gift from Wally a year ago) into the dishwasher. "I'm gonna take a shower, try not to blow anything up while I'm gone."

Jason smirked at Dick as he walked away. "Nice ass, Grayson!" He whistled, making Sel crack-up beside him.

"You're not helping, Jason!" Dick called back, walking to his bathroom.

Once the older man was out of ear-shot, Jason placed a hand on his protégé's shoulder. "I know what you're thinking, kid."

"And what is that?"

Jason gave her a 'really?' look and rolled his eyes. "I know that you're gonna sneak out later and follow Dickie-bird to wherever his little team is staying."

Sel glanced at him skeptically. "Are you gonna tell on me?"

He snorted in reply. "Do you even know me? I wouldn't do something like that. In fact, I'll even help you sneak out."

The girl perked up at that and tackled Jason into a hug. "I knew it!" She exclaimed. "You really _are_ a big softie at heart!"

Jason rolled his eyes. "Did Dick tell you that?"

"Yep!" Sel replied, popping the letter p at the end.

"Figures, now do you want my help or not?"

The brunette nodded. "Of course I do."

He leaned in closer and whispered something in her ear, making her eyes widen and letting a devious grin appear on her face. "You got that, pipsqueak?"

"Uh-huh, I just wonder why I haven't thought of it before."

**BREAKLINE**

"I gotta say, Nightwing and his daycare squad put on quite the show when the situation calls for it," Wren commented, shoving a handful of Doritos into his mouth.

Shyler frowned at his actions and opened his mouth to say something but Alissa beat him to the punch, smacking the back of the other teen's head roughly. "Take this seriously, Wren. We can't take the Justice League down so easily. You have to pay attention to even the most minor of details, so get your head out of your ass and concentrate!"

The auburn-haired boy tuned her out and continued watching the 'show' on Amy's magic portal-thingy where a certain red and gold clad speedster was in the middle of playing referee in a spar between Green and Keiji with the other teenagers watching.

Alissa noticed the younger teen ignoring her and fumed. Why the Hell did she even bother with Wren in the first place? He was lazy, rude and didn't follow her orders. Not only that but he constantly terrorized Amethyst, who was arguably the strongest one on their team since she did use magic, which was always a problem for the enemy especially when they didn't know what exactly they're dealing with. The blue-eyed girl usually smiled at the teenager in response, but even the nicest of people got ticked off at least sometimes.

Nikole crossed her arms over her chest and looked at Alissa seriously, her eyebrows knitting together. "With all due respect, _why_ exactly are you so intent on taking down the Justice League with no reason whatsoever? Secondly, why are you focusing on that little team when we could simply spy on the League itself? Doesn't that sound more simple than what you're doing right now?"

Alissa glared at the other blonde girl in a 'who-are-you-to-question-me' manner. "I have my reasons why I want the Justice League to be obliterated. To answer your second question, _yes_ it'd be easier to do such but you're forgetting one very important fact."

"And what is this 'very important' fact?" Shyler challenged from his seat next to Wren, peering at their 'leader' expectantly. Shyler had made it clear to everyone that he disliked nearly everyone on this team (well Nikole was tolerable for the most part) so he found their squabbles entertaining just as long as he wasn't involved in them. The teenage speedster took a moment to go over each and every single one of his so-called 'teammates' and sighed, thinking about how much the universe fucking hated him for making him put up with these people who were more or less insane.

Alissa, their 'leader' had the shortest temper known to man. The blonde snapped at everyone on a daily basis and if Shyler didn't know better, he would've thought that she was Black Canary's long-lost daughter or something because hearing that girl's yells and rants was enough to make Shyler deaf.

Nikole, or 'Gadgette' as she was called, was the brains of their team. Sure she didn't even have a costume, or even bothered to hide her face but she didn't seem to care. She controlled most, if not all of their tech and was their resident hacker. The thirteen year old thought that she was the most 'normal' despite her _slight_ obsession with spiders, both mechanical and real.

Wren, who didn't even bother to have a code name, just went by Wren both on and off the field. He possessed teleportation powers, both long ranged and short range and used them to his advantage. He wore a black trench coat with a white shirt, black jeans with boots under and (thankfully) had a simple domino mask on. To Shyler, Wren's ego was thrice the size of his brain.

Now Amethyst Hexx was a bastard, that was it. 'She' was a thousand year old magic-user with a deep love for tormenting humans and was just an all around secret psychopath. The son of a bitch may act all sweet and innocent but Shyler could see through all 'her' tricks.

"You're forgetting that this team is one of the League's biggest weaknesses. If we strike at them first and they can't handle it, the League will come and rescue them. We capture the League and everything will go along smoothly," Alissa explained, the other occupants of the room growing quiet. They couldn't disagree with that logic.

After a few moments of quiet, she clapped her hands together. "It's settled then, in a few days, we'll go after those super brats and after that, we'll do the same with the Justice League. Is that understood?"

**-To**** Be Continued-**

** Hope you liked this chapter, don't forget to click that review button on your way out. See you all next chapter (which I can promise you is gonna be a thrilling one).**

**-BirdsSpeedandArrows xx**


	14. Chapter 14

**Special shout-out to AsgardianGrizzly once more for giving me the best ideas and motivating me to write more :D**

**Note: From here on, I'll be calling the team by their hero aliases when on missions and whatnot. Here's the list is you've forgotten:**

**Dan- Stone**

**Calvin-Ice**

**IIeana-Filo Rosso**

**Green- Ever Green**

**Keiji- Switch**

**Isaac- Fang**

**Lilinette-Nova**

**Rumple-(Will be mentioned in the next chapter.)**

Dan suppressed a groan as he watched their brand new 'teammate', Rumple was it? argue with Lilinette over whether magic was real or not. lleana was standing closely behind to hear what Rumple had to say about the subject, since she too, had her doubts about magic.

This whole thing was driving him freaking insane and he contemplated whether it was a good idea to sneak out of the room unnoticed and just leave. Probably not since he was sure there were security cameras installed at every entrance and exit. The brunet almost face-palmed when he realized that this whole thing was a lose-lose situation, there was no way out of it.

They had left 'Rumple' in the whilst he was unconscious. Nightwing had instructed Flash to keep watch much to the speedster's protests. But when he _had_ woken up, things weren't pretty.

_ "I refuse to be withheld like some animal on a leash!" The teenager yelled, pushing through Isaac and Keiji who were trying to hold him back. _

_ "Let him go," Nightwing interjected. "He doesn't want to feel restrained so we shouldn't make him feel like such. I can assure you that he won't go very far."_

_ Like always, Nightwing was right and the rest of them watched reluctantly as the young sorcerer __stormed out of the Cave as fast as he could and stopped suddenly near the ledge. "What the-" _

_ "You still don't believe us?" Keiji spoke up from behind him. "Based on your clothing, I'm gonna say that you're from the 19th century, right?"_

_ Rumple opened his mouth to speak, but no words came to him, feeling his throat go dry he stared at the scene in front of him. Instead of horses pulling carriages, there were these strange metal contraptions moving along the road with people in them. They varied in color, size and even shape.'Impossible.'he thought. 'Humans couldn't have mastered this type of sorcery.'_

_There weren't little shops or wooden houses along the sides of the road. In there place, stood tall buildings also varying in color, size and shape. Everything was so ridiculously...flashy and bright it hurt his eyes. "Where am I?" He questioned to himself once more. "Mortals couldn't have possibly..."_

_ "Things have changed over time," Nightwing's voice piped up from behind them, startling the two. "We are what people would call 'heroes', it is our job to protect the people who can't protect themselves. We wear costumes and masks to conceal our identities to the public, some more than others if I may add."_

_The dark haired boy nodded slowly but unsurely. "What do you want from me? My power?"_

"In a way, yes," _Nightwing replied cooly, making the boy scowl. "But not in the way you'd expect. The reason I told you about 'heroes' is because I know that you have the potential to be a great hero and use your powers for something great."_

_ "You want me to be a hero?"_

_ "Yes, more specifically, I want you to be a part of this team, this team of heroes in training. Listen, I know that you're trying your best to get your memories back but I think you'll need the distraction. You shouldn't take this burden on your own, Rumple. That's why we work as a team."_

_ The sorcerer scowled. "I am from a different time, I do not belong here. Everything is so flashy and strange it's indescribable. A person like myself does not fit into this polluting 'new' Earth. However, the idea of 'heroes' do sound intriguing to me."_

_ "Jesus, from the way he's acting, he might as well be a magical Captain America who thinks too much of himself. Dan remarked._

_ "Captain America?" Rumple and IIeana chorused._

_ "A super-soldier from the 1940's who fought the Nazi-like organizations and even Hitler himself dressed in red, white and blue and a symbol of hope for the Americans," Calvin clarified. "He's a character published by Marvel, a comic book company who has also been adapted into movies like Captain America: The First Avenger and the sequel, The Winter Soldier."_

_ Every gaze in the room turned on him and he shrugged. "What?"_

_ "Now that we've established that Calvin is a living Wikipedia page for all things related to movies, I think Nightwing had something to say," Isaac spoke up._

_ Before anyone could question what Wikipedia was, Nightwing opened his mouth to speak, wearing his 'authoritative leader look' (as Wally had playfully called it) as he turned to Rumple.__ "So what do you say, Rumple? Are you up to the challenge?" Nightwing asked, using the exact same tone he used when he first talked to Dan and offered him a spot on the team._

Meanwhile, Keiji glanced at Dan who was lost in his own thoughts and nudged Calvin with his elbow lightly. "Doesn't he realize that Nightwing's already here?"

IIeana stepped forward and snapped her fingers in front of the seventeen year old's face, pulling him out of his thoughts. He looked around to see everyone staring at him and frowned. "So _now_, you find me worth noticing?"

Nightwing cleared his throat to get their attention. "I have a mission for you all. But be warned that Flash and I are going on a mission of our own, an off-world mission for that matter."

"You gonna make us clean up the Justice League's toilets with our own toothbrushes?" Dan remarked, obviously still pissed off about earlier.

Wally sent the boy an admonishing glare while Nightwing was once again, totally unaffected. "The Watchtower's bathrooms are all self-cleaning so there'll be no need for ruining perfectly good toothbrushes. This mission is a bit more exciting than the last one so there is no need to worry."

The teenagers looked at him curiously and Nightwing pulled out a holographic screen, making their eyes widen.

"What in the world is that?" Rumple exclaimed.

"It's not 'what',it's _who_," Wally corrected.

"Well then, _who_ is that?" Dan demanded.

The speedster uncharacteristically looked at them sharply, as if there were a hidden warning behind his words. "He likes to call himself Grodd..._Gorilla Grodd_."

**BREAKLINE**

"Seriously? I can't believe this. Just when I thought we'd be sent on an actual mission, what do they do? They send us to be bodyguards, that's what," Stone suddenly snapped.

"We shouldn't complain about this," Ice interjected. "Nightwing and Flash trust us to guard this prison transfer and make sure that Gorilla Grodd doesn't escape."

The guards they were supposed to be 'helping' were dressed in darkish-gray armor and were armed with guns which Stone had to admit were pretty impressive. The seventeen year old had taught himself to use guns from his time on the streets. He had been around thirteen at the time and wandered into an old warehouse when he saw a simple handgun lying around. It was then he trained himself how to use a few different varieties and even with his powers, had taken a liking to them, not that he would say that to Nightwing or Flash of course.

"So you kids are guarding this prison transfer with us?" A woman with dark violet hair tied in a long braid in her early thirties asked, clearly unimpressed. "The last time the League sent a bunch of diaper-wetting babies in costumes to do work like this, the robots managed to escape and the road turned into a battlefield."

Ice and Filo Rosso shared a look. "And when did this particular event happen?" IIeana asked.

The woman shrugged. "It happened well over ten years ago. My brother was on that force and told me all about some little brat in a leotard and a cape and some other kids who screwed it all up for them." Her gaze hardened particularly at Lilinette since she _was_ significantly younger than her teammates. "Now that's the _last_ thing I want to happen so you little snots better behave, got it?"

"Yes ma'am," Switch and Ice said in unison, making Stone roll his eyes. Trust those two to fill the roles of the goody Two-shoes of the group.

For the first few minutes, things we're going along pretty smoothly, all they had to do was to stand on guard while the actual guards Sounds easy right? _Wrong_, once again.

A loud explosion was heard and all gazes instantly snapped to the large truck that was holding Grodd. In it's current state, it looked more like a hunk of crushed and burnt metal than a vehicle. A large shadow, probably around six and a half feet emerged, dark smoke surrounding it. A clear growl pierced through the wind and the large figure stepped out of the shadows to reveal itself.

"It's Gorilla Grodd!" Ice pointed out, and sure enough there was the oversized gorilla standing there in front of them.

"I've heard about this guy, he's high-up in any major hero's rogues gallery. He's definitely bad news," Switch informed them, gripping on his katana.

Stone scoffed. "Pshh. He's a gorilla in a skateboard helmet, this'll be a piece of cake."

"This isn't the time to be thinking about pastries, Stone," Filo Rosso said sharply. "Gorilla Grodd is no ordinary ape."

The boy's correction was cut off by said ape banging his oversized fists on the pavement. "Fools! You think a simple contraption like that can hold me?"

"Don't let him get inside your heads!" Ice warned. "Be careful!"

"Then how do we beat this guy?" Fang questioned.

"Less talking, more fighting!" Stone proclaimed as he jumped over to give Grodd a taste of his fist.

"We shouldn't rely on brute force alone," Switch informed them. "We need a plan."

"We don't have time for plans!" Stone insisted, already sprinting closer to the gorilla. Unfortunately, he was a few seconds too slow and Grodd turned to him with an almost-amused expression written all over his face.

The seventeen year old saw a bright flash of multiple colors blink rapidly in front of his eyes and before he knew it, his body suddenly felt heavy and he fell to the ground, nearly missing the noises of shock that echoed through his ears before he saw that same flash of bright colors.

_A teenager, around sixteen-almost seventeen years old sighed in frustration as he ducked into a dark alley to avoid the men chasing after him. He had been living on the streets since he was twelve and prided himself for surviving this long. It was hunt or be hunted down in this side of the city._

_ "You little freak!" One of the men called into the alley, he was dressed in an ugly knit-beanie and had a scruffy beard. "When we're done with you, you're dead, ya hear me?"_

_ "Shit," Dan cursed when one of the other guys-a skinny man with yellow-rotting teeth came closer._

_ "If you come out right now, I swear we'll go easy on you. And if you're a good boy we'll let you go without a single scratch," Yellow-teeth bribed._

_ "Like Hell I am," the brown-haired teen snapped. "Go screw yourselves."_

_ The guy fumed and his face turned a bright tomato-red. "Alright you little shit, I tried to be nice to you but now you're gonna pay."_

_ Their last companion was a guy with a shaved head and wore a once-white shirt, he raised his fist and Dan, out of instinct, changed his skin into solid stone. When the man's hand made contact with him, a definite cracking sound could be heard. Shaved-Head clutched his injured hand to his chest in pain. "What the fuck? What did you do, you little brat?"_

_ Yellow-Teeth didn't wait for a reply and grabbed the teenager roughly by his collar. "You some sort of human experiment, huh?"_

_ Dan fumed, his hands tightening into fists. "Say that again, I dare you."_

_ Tired of the boy's spitfire attitude, Knit-Beanie stepped closer, ignoring Shaved-Head's wails of pain in the background. "Just give us back our money and we'll only leave you with a few broken bones, freak."_

_ Dan's now stone fist connected with the man's face and promptly knocked a few of his teeth out, blood splattering out of his mouth._

_ "What the fuck?" Knit-Beanie exclaimed. "What exactly are you, freak?"_

_ Dan fumed, clenching his fists together tightly and gritting his teeth. "You're going to pay for calling me that."_

_** Punch. Kick. Punch. Elbow. Punch. Dodge. Punch once more.** It all felt like a routine, the man's blood stained his clothing and the pavement below him._

_Just when he was about to deliver the final blow before leaving, the familiar __sound of police sirens filled the area and Dan cursed once more. A bystander probably saw what was going on and called the cops. He pulled his hood up and sprinted down the alley, only stopping when he was met with a tall metal gate._

_ "You, over there!" A loud voice yelled, red and blue lights flashed right before Dan's eyes once more before everything turned to a pitch black._

"What happened to him?"Ever Green asked worriedly, her expression shifting into a look of horror. "Is he-"

"-He's not dead," IIeana assured. "My drone, Uno did a scan and proved that his mind is elsewhere. He's trapped in a dream-like state where no one can enter and snap him out of it."

"I would be able to use my magic," Rumple suggested.

"No, it's too risky," Ice interjected.

"I agree," Filo Rosso said. "Using magic could result in negative effects on his brain, we could psychologically torture him without even knowing

"We need a plan, and fast," Fang pushed.

Rumple made a face. "I refuse to be inhibited like this. I have ventured to countless dimensions and have fought opponents much tougher than a zoo-animal. In fact I-"

"-We'll have plenty of time to discuss your adventures later at the Cave, dude," Fang cut him off. "But right now, we have to kick some gorilla-butt."

"Then what do you dunces suggest we do, then? Nova hissed. "We should be out there fighting but instead, we're here chit-chatting like a bunch of recreants. Now I don't know about you terrible excuses of 'heroes' but I am no coward." With that, Nova grabbed her black and blue-colored Wakizashi sword and stormed out of the dark, damaged building.

Visions flickered right in front of her eyes. Stopping at one scene before shifting to the next. Brief flashbacks of past experiences both good and bad appeared and disappeared. Grodd wasn't even remotely holding back right now.

A blast of the color yellow appeared in front of Nova's vision and the scenes shifted to a different memory, a memory she knew all too well.

_ "You, my dear child, shall be my successor," Her father stated, his hands resting on her shoulders._

_ "What do you mean?" Lilintte asked curiously, her green eyes piercing into the black haired man's soul. _

_ "It means," he started, his voice lowering to a whisper. "That you have to take over The Blurs one day, Lilinette. And that day is sooner than we would like to expect," he explained sadly._

_ "You're only twenty-two, father. I don't think you'll be dying soon," the toddler replied. "In fact, the average male's lifespan could reach up to approximately sixty-eight years of age. But since you're not 'ordinary', I think you'll be living longer than that."_

_ The young man was taken-aback at the little girl's reply but remembered that his daughter was often deemed as a 'child genius'. He ruffled her hair and gave her a sad smile. "I want you to take care of yourself, okay?"_

_ "Why do you sound like you're saying goodbye, father?" She asked confusedly, her eyebrows furrowing together in thought._

_ "That's because-" his voice cracked at the end, not able to finish his sentence. "I want you to listen to me, okay my little sunshine?"_

_ Lilinette nodded in reply and he cleared his throat once more, pulling his daughter in a slight hug watching as she flinched back in surprise but relaxed into the hug. "What is it, father?_

_ "Your mother and I are leaving...for good. There are assassins, far more talented than I've ever dreamed off and they're...hunting us down. We can't afford to let them get close to you, Lilinette so we made a deal. A deal that involves-" he took a deep breath once more. "-That involves your mother, myself and **death**."_

_ The toddler's eyes started filling up with tears but she refused to shed a single drop, shaking her head, she wrapped her arms around her father's neck and sighed. "Do you really have to do this, papa?"_

_ The black haired man faltered. His daughter usually only called him 'father', never 'papa'. "I'm afraid so, it's either this or an all-out war between The Blurs and those...insane assassins. And you could be hurt in the process and I would rather **die** than see anything happen to you."_

_ "What about public appearances?"_

_ "We've hired actors and paid them just enough to pose as us until you turn eighteen, everything's been settled. You can have anything you want, do anything you want since it's your company now. So it won't be all bad," he said in a final attempt to lighten up the mood, only to fail miserably._

_ "Oh...Where's mother?"_

_He ran a hand through his hair in stress. "She said that it'd be too painful_ _to say goodbye to you, but it's time now, Lilinette. I have to say...goodbye."_

_ "G-Goodbye...Papa."_

It was then that her world faded into black.

"Nova is down," Switch said loud enough for Ice and Ever Green to hear beside him. "We have to take action before anymore of us are affected."

"We have to do it," Filo Rosso replied. "But we need a distraction of some sort."

As if it were on cue, a red blur appeared right in front of them. The red-clad figure came swooping in with what looked liked a hand-glider.

Little Red pulled out a black tranquilizer gun from her utility belt. "This better work," she said to herself as she took aim at the ape.

She pulled the trigger and the tranquilizer dart flew in slow motion. Grodd, knowing that the girl would try that trick, jumped away seconds before the dart would be able to hit him.

"Silly girl," Grodd laughed. "You simply can't take me down with such a little weapon like that."

With Grodd distracted, Ice took the chance to freeze the area surrounding Grodd, only to be met with a gorilla-sized fist crashing into his body a few seconds later. Switch pulled out his sword whilst Filo Rosso signaled for her drones to attack. Rumple had used his magic to weaken Grodd to the best of his abilities.

Fang had imitated a Gorilla himself to be on par with Grodd's strength. Unfortunately for Fang, Grodd's strength was way beyond the strength of a normal gorilla and he had to imitate a bird's flying abilities to dodge, playing the defensive instead of the offensive.

Little Red fired three shots at Grodd before ducking and rolling a few feet away to dodge a chunk of cement flung in her direction.

Luckily, two of the three shots were able to hit the gorilla, one dart on his right arm, the other pierced a few inches from his heart. The ape's expression turned into one of utter surprise before twitching uncomfortably.

This continued for a few seconds before his large body crashed to the ground. Little Red looked over at Nightwing who gave her a curt nod, making her walk up to him. "I thought you were on a League mission

Nightwing sighed. "We were just finishing-up when we got a distress signal coming from Ice who said that it was urgent."

"You're about twenty-minutes too late, then. Well, the destruction to the city wasn't _that_ bad, I suppose," Little Red commented. "Not much was destroyed apart from two and a half streets, few road signs and stop lights, a conveniently empty building and a bunch of cars."

"It's quite difficult to get here on time when you're busy fighting intergalactic threats on another planet light years away. Even with the zeta beams," Nightwing informed her. "I don't suppose Grodd is dead now isn't he?"

"He isn't," the girl clarified. "It took a lot of tranquilizer to make him unconscious but he should be out for a few days, giving the force a lot of time to transfer him without any trouble whatsoever."

"I see. Now if you don't mind, Flash and I have things to take care off at the moment so feel free to roam around the city without dragging yourself into trouble again, of course," Nightwing told the young anti-hero.

The girl nodded in understanding before giving Nightwing a mock salute and disappearing away with her hand-glider. Flash raised a quizzical eyebrow at his best friend. "You know that kid?"

_So the cat's out of the bag_, the twenty-five year old thought. "Yeah, she has a habit of swooping into danger unexpectedly. I called her in earlier and told her to be on guard in case something went wrong with this whole thing."

"You sly little troll why didn't you tell me about this?" Flash questioned with his arms crossed, a little bothered by the fact that the younger man had kept a secret from him.

Nightwing turned his head to see that most members of the team were either injured or unconscious. IIeana was leaning onto a wrecked taxi for support and trying her best to stay up. Stone and Nova were both lying on the ground, unconscious. Ice and Switch were helping Green, the blonde girl's arms were slung over their shoulders as they walked towards their two leaders. Rumple and Fang looked to be in the best-shape but even from afar, Nightwing could tell that they were injured. "They have the potential, they just need the proper training."

"Lots and lots of gaining from the looks of it. Maybe a bunch of communicators too. They need to learn how to communicate with their teammates when on the field," Flash quipped. "And _you_, on the other hand, have a lot of explaining to do."

"I know, we could talk more about this later on. Right now, we have more pressing matters that need our attention."

"We could talk about it over a romantic candle-lit dinner graced with rose-petals, maybe?" Flash winked to ease the tension. '_Flirty as always,' _Nightwing mused.

"In your dreams, twinkle toes. We both have a lot of work to do, now come on."

**BREAKLINE**

The dirty-blonde haired seventeen year old groaned as a blinding light appeared right before him, moving his hand in front of his face, to shield his eyes from the brightness. "Where am I? Am I dead?"

"You aren't dead yet, kid. If you were, what am I supposed to tell your parents?" A familiar voice called, Isaac blinked and let his eyes adjust to the brightness of the room. He looked to the side to see Flash-no Wally standing near his..._hospital bed_?

"What just happened?" Isaac inquired, rubbing his head to make sure that he didn't have a concussion or anything of that sort. "I feel like I just got ran over by a bulldozer."

"Gorilla Grodd happened," Wally answered, helping the boy sit up. "You took quite the beating. After the fight with Grodd, you suddenly passed out, you had us worried, kid."

"I feel all fuzzy. Did anything major happen?"

"Yes," Wally replied stiffly. "Dan and Lilinette were both put into comatose-like states from Grodd's ability to manipulate dreams. As you can see, that's why they were unconscious.

Isaac's eyebrows shot up in worry. "Are they okay now?"

"But our mistakes could cost innocent people their lives."

"That's why we train to become better than we were yesterday," Wally explained. "When we put on our costumes and get on the field it isn't about our survival or gain. It's about protecting all the people who couldn't protect themselves. It's our duty as heroes to do things like this, not because we get paid with money or with any material objects but because we _chose_ to do this. And you're right, our mistakes could cost innocent people their lives, but it doesn't mean that we can't fix the problems that are making this world suffer."

"To be honest, I didn't expect you to be the kind of person who gave pep-talks like this," Isaac joked to ease the tension in the room. "Usually, I'd expect Nightwing to give all these 'words of wisdom' or something like that."

"Nightwing's got a lot on his plate right now, it's understandable. He has the League to deal with and they're twice as immature as teenagers," Wally defended.

"What's he like in real life?" The seventeen year old asked before realization hit. "Y-You don't have to tell me if you don't want to though. I m-mean you guys know each other's secret identities and I know how important keeping-"

"No it's fine," the speedster cut off in consolation. "I've known him since we were kids and I've seen him grow-up from this happy-go-lucky little bundle of rainbows, sunshine and energy to this cool and collected leader that you see everyday when you walk into the Cave. But let me tell you this, mask or no mask, he's my best friend, that's who he is."

"You guys have a really strong bond, all of us can see it. IIeana isn't really the best at these kinds of things but she said the exact same thing I said, only worded differently. Even Rumple notices, and he's from a different time all together."

The ginger brushed his hand through his hair. "Get some rest, I just remembered that I have something I have to do."

He got was a smile in reply and somehow, Wally was content with that. He told the teenager to rest for now and walked out of the room with his lips curled up in his own grin.

**BREAKLINE**

"Child?"

"Yes, Master?"

"Tell me, what did you think about their performance as a 'team' against one of the more stronger opponents the Justice League themselves would encounter?"

The boy's back stiffened and his blue eyes snapped up at his master. "Their overall performance was halfway mediocre," he stated unsurely. "There were approximately four missed opportunities where they could've defeated the ape. For example, the ice-boy was hesitant in giving the others orders for he was concerned about their safety, he seems to care about them a lot in a brotherly manner and that's a mistake all on its own. One shouldn't grow so attached with their comrades, it makes them weak and easy to strike at."

"I see you've remembered what I taught you."

The child then continued after a nod from his master. "The girl with those green eyes that blast whenever she's angry or overwhelmed, covers her eyes with goggles and is clearly afraid of using her abilities, that alone should speak for itself. Moving on, the boy with the katana, is quite the swordsman but his skills with knives and other weapons are lacking and Katanas like his are praised more than they are worth."

His master's eye had a glint of amusement in it and he gestured for his young protégé to continue. "Is that so? You yourself are a young swordsman and you've once told me that you fancied a Katana as your weapon of choice."

The boy frowned at him pointedly. "You refused though. I was a child with no knowledge of any other weapons. Plus, I was trained by _you_ out of all people, I'm not exactly what people would consider _normal_."

"True. You may very well continue, I quite enjoy hearing your insight, child."

If it were any other person, the boy would've rolled his eyes. But since he knew better than to do that with his face exposed, so he resumed. "The boy who can mimic the abilities of animals, his powers are limited to only one animal at the time. He also likes to interact with his teammates on a personal basis, he sees them as friends instead of allies. An enemy could hold one of his teammates hostage and he would be one of the first to crumble and save them."

"The teenager with the powers to change his skin into stone. He's the 'wildcard' of the group, is he not? He has a habit of being sarcastic and snide to his superiors but I suspect it has something to do with teenage hormones," the young boy said with a roll of his eyes. "Nightwing plucked him out of some rotting prison for no apparent reason other than he has powers and is under the age of eighteen," the boy sneered. "Grayson is getting to be more and more like Batman every single day, taking in children with oh-so-tragic pasts just like his. It's quite pathetic actually."

"Is there anything else you want to say?" His master pushed.

The boy thought about it for a moment before continuing, "The girl with those three drones. Her skill with technology is..._palatable_ at the most but then again, once those gadgets are destroyed, she'd be an easy target. But I have to admit, her past is quite the interesting one to say the least. I wouldn't have expected someone like her to work under Nightwing."

"And what about the little girl?" The man questioned.

"Lilinette Jaggershaw is nothing but a prissy little girl who has more than everything served to her on a silver, Diamond-encrusted platter. She is an eight year old brat who wants to play hero for no apparent reason other than to torment everyone around her with her wealth and 'superiority'. I see her as nothing but a whiny sprat with a Wakizashi sword and bodyguards."

"Quite the description for such a young child. But she does remind me of _someone_, does she not?"

The dark-haired boy scowled. "We are not alike in any possible way other than our close age-range."

"I see. Well done, my apprentice. You've improved in terms of both gathering information, weaponry and hand-to-hand combat."

The boy dropped his head, dark bangs falling right in front of his unmasked face. "Your orders, Master?"

"Since you've been working so hard, I might as well reward you, child. You may resume with your former mission. Observe Grayson, watch his every move, take note of even the most minor of weaknesses."

The young boy snapped his head up in surprise. "Is there anything else, Master?"

"Yes there is. Nightwing needs a wake-up call, does he not? Give him a little _warning_ if you will."

"It'd be my pleasure, Master."

**Whew, finally done with this chapter! Now if you've noticed, I started dropping even more little hints as to who the 'Master' and the kid are. Feel free to guess who they are in the reviews. Hope to see you all next chapter.**

**-BirdsSpeedandArrows xx**


	15. Chapter 15

"Nightwing told me to check-up on you if you're doing well," Flash's voice echoed a few feet behind him, startling him in the process.

"What're you doing here?" Dan questioned, avoiding eye-contact with the hero in favor of glaring at the walls.

"I could ask you the same thing."

Dan turned to glare at him but it wasn't at full force and did no wonders to intimidate the speedster. "Leave me alone."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yes," Dan said through gritted teeth. "I'm very sure about that." He then got up from the couch and started to stomp out of the room. "I'm gonna take a walk outside.

"You just got released from the medical ward, you should be resting right now."

"Would you stop being so condescending all the time?" The brunet turned to snarl at him. "I'm not some little kid you can order around all the time! Look, I didn't ask to be a superhero or to be a part of this 'team'. I don't care if you send the whole Justice League after me but I'm sick of this shit. All the 'good' that's come out from this are the increased number of scars and bruises I've obtained on these pointless missions you've been sending us on! Now I'm leaving and if you follow me, I swear to every god that's out there, I _will_ hurt you."

"If that's what you want, then I'm not stopping you," came the calm reply.

It was Dan's turn to be surprised. He hadn't expected that. He was prepared for a long-ass speech, a cliché lecture about responsibility and that kind of crap one would see in movies, but _this_ clearly wasn't a movie. "What?"

The older man's expression didn't change the slightest bit. "I said that I'm not stopping you, if you want to walk out then fine with me. It's your life and you can do whatever you want with it just as long as no one else is hurt in the process."

'_What's he playing at?'_ Dan thought to himself. _'He's not as smart as Nightwing, who would probably use reverse psychology or a brain-fuck, so what's he doing?'_

Wally didn't give the teenager the time to dwell on the thought for another second and cleared his throat. "Listen here kid, heroes put their lives on the line every second they're out there on the field. Heroes risk their own lives to protect those who can't protect themselves. I've seen my own comrades- no my _friends_, diein battle. I've seen _people I know _get hurt_, _paralyzed and_ scarred for life__. _And if you aren't up to the challenge of being a hero, then I have no problem with you walking out that door."

With that, the scarlet speedster flashed out of sight, the only traces of his presence being a gust of wind and a gaping seventeen year old.

**BREAKLINE**

"Lilinette? May I come in?" Nightwing knocked on the door. After receiving a small 'yes', he peered into the room to see the eight year old sitting at the desk, scribbling

"I can assure you that I am fine so there is no need for you to check up on me," she replied evenly, not bothering to tell him off for not calling her by her proper title. Nightwing was Nightwing after all, so she couldn't do anything about it.

"Okay, now I know that you're not 'fine', Lilinette. First of all, you almost never hang-out at the Cave unless it's for mission purposes and secondly, you never let anyone into your room, even if you don't use it a lot."

He took a seat on the edge of the bed and she stared up at him, a pair of masked eyes locked into another pair of masked-covered eyes and Nightwing waited patiently for even the shortest of replies and as luck would have it, he received one.

"How?"

"What do you mean 'how'?"

"How are you so good at reading people and their emotions? I've always been told that reading people is an exceptional skill one must possess in battle and in day-to-day life but I can never get the hang of it," she explained seriously.

Nightwing shrugged. "I'm sure you'll get the hang of it eventually, it just takes time and practice."

"I don't have the time nor the patience to do such 'practice' for I've been training for more than half of my life."

"Well at least you're honest about it," Nightwing shrugged with a half-smile.

"I tend not to lie unless I'm planning to deceive my enemies, Nightwing."

"You know my secret identity, same with Wally's, so why all the formalities?"

"Because it is not in my nature to cease my formalities," The eight year old replied stiffly, as if she rehearsed the line about a dozen times.

"It's perfectly fine if you call me by my real name just as long as there isn't anyone else around."

"I would prefer not to if you don't mind," she answered awkwardly, staring at her lap and avoiding Nightwing's gaze like the plague.

"It's okay."

"May I ask you something?"

"You just did."

"Something else."

"Go ahead."

"What's it like to have a friend?"

He nearly jumped back at the question but replied anyways; "It's one of the best feelings in the world. You have someone who's there by your side and who'd be there to pick you up whenever you fall. My mom once told me that a friend is someone who would look past your broken fence and admire the beautiful flowers in your garden," he mused, images of a certain red-head crossing his mind.

"That's...nice," she pondered, looking for the right word. "I've always wondered what it was like to have one."

"You have the team, they're your friends."

"Not exactly," she admitted, her nose crinkling. "Eighty percent of our conversations are arguments, ten percent of the time we're sitting in an awkward silence and the other ten percent, I'm not even here."

"It takes time. But bonds will form eventually, you just have to look for the right person."

"They loathe me."

"Loathe is a strong word."

"Don't waste your time trying to comfort me, I already know I'm a disappointment."

Concern spread over his face and he placed a hand on her shoulder, noting it when she flinched back at the touch but relaxed into it.

"You aren't a disappointment, Lilinette. You run a successful organization and are more mature and responsible than any eight year old I've ever encountered. And as for the others, they don't loathe you, not even close. Just excuse some of them for how they act around some people, that's just how they are and as long as no one is hurt, I have no intent of changing who they are. But that doesn't mean that you should change who _you_ are to impress anyone. If you're happy with who you are that's more than enough."

"Do you really mean it?" She asked.

"Yes. Trust me."

"When the ape intruded my mind, I saw my predecessor...my father."

Nightwing nodded but didn't push for more information, letting Lilinette continue on her own.

"I know it has been four years but the feeling is so strange. He told me that it is in my blood to carry on with this legacy, that I was born and raised to lead The Blurs. I may have been young, well younger at that time but I could remember it as if it were yesterday. My mother didn't have the stomach to say goodbye so the last time I saw her was the night before. There were tears in her eyes when she spoke to me and when I questioned her about them, she dismissed the matter, kissed my forehead and _left_. Just like that."

He was quiet, but he was listening closely, grasping on to every word.

"My trainers were strict and didn't tolerate any childish behavior, I despised all of them and the feelings were mutual. So when I kicked their asses to the floor, I fired them immediately and now, I train myself, two hours a day at the least."

"That sounds like quite the experience," he commented simply.

"Oh it was. If anyone, it's you who would understand the downsides of being a billionaire's child," she added with a roll of her eyes.

"Let me guess, the paparazzi?"

"Exactly. Those creeps follow you everywhere from the super yachts and personal jets to your own mansions around the country."

"Well I've lived with B for most of my life so I could say the same thing."

"Is your adoptive father a good father?"

He thought about it for a moment, tapping his finger on his chin in thought. "Bats is one Hell of a vigilante but when I came into his life, he was so new at this guardian thing he ran to our butler, 'Agent A' as we call him, every chance he got. B and I have been through a lot together, both good and bad."

"Oh aren't we all exclusive members of the traumatized orphans club," she said and he nodded in agreement with a sad smile.

"But not having actual parents around had it's benefits, I suppose. I could vaguely recall one instance where I had to have a meeting with a few rival companies and to this day, I remember the attendee's faces when they saw that the actual owner of the Jaggershaw company was a small child. The reactions are one of my favorite parts of it all," Lilinette told him.

She let a small smile flicker on her face at the memory and Nightwing couldn't help but smile as well. "Feeling any better now?"

"I suppose," she shrugged.

He curtly nodded at her before getting up and heading to the door.

"Richard?" She called, her voice wavering and laced with hesitance.

He was slightly surprised at being called by his name but didn't want to make a big deal out of it, he concealed the emotion making its way to his face. "Yes?"

"Thank you," she said softly. "I appreciate all that you've done for me."

His grin didn't leave his face at that one. He had always been told that he was great with kids and he couldn't disagree with that, in fact, he loved kids. Everything from their natural curiosity and playfulness to their energetic and bubbly personalities. True, she wasn't a 'normal' child on the outside, but she was still one at heart. "It was no problem, Lilinette."

**BREAKLINE**

"Think they've had enough?" Nightwing asked his younger brother.

Red Robin shook his head. "Not even close."

Nightwing chuckled at the younger man's reply. "You could be quite the sadist when you want to be, I'm impressed."

"Sure you are, and it's for their own good anyways. Though I don't really know why you called me up for this."

The acrobat shrugged. "I thought it would appropriate. It's been a while since I've handled teenagers."

"You sound like a grandfather."

Nightwing gave him an overdramatic frown. "You're so mean to me."

The nineteen year old shrugged. "Still doesn't explain as to why you want me here."

"I know that you've known for a long time now. But why didn't you say anything?"

"Why didn't _you_ say anything? Dude, I know you have a lot going on right now but keeping secrets from Batman is close to impossible. The big guy has known you since you were a kid."

"You're not Batman though."

"So are you. You never wanted to be him, you only realized it fully after..." He trailed off, knowing that for his brother, the topic was a _delicate_ one to say the least.

"After the Failsafe simulation," Nightwing finished. "You know you don't have to censor anything around me, little brother," he assured, his smile not reaching his eyes.

Red Robin nodded, crossing his arms over his chest as he watched Lilinette execute a full-moon kick at the practice-dummy before side-stepping and landing an axe-kick to it's head. Correction: taking out the dummy's head off it's body and sending it flying across the room.

"Are we quite done yet?" The girl asked boredly. "This 'training exercise' is quite bland and clearly meant for toddlers. If this is all that we're doing then I might as well take my leave."

"Don't be so picky Lilinette, it isn't polite," Calvin said from a few feet away. "Nightwing and Red Robin are taking their time to train us so we should be appreciative."

She didn't bother to reply and instead walked over to another training dummy and performed a jumping turning fourty-five degree kick to it's side before giving it a swift out-in kick to the head and once again, sent it rolling to the ground like a tumbleweed in the desert.

Red Robin raised an eyebrow inquisitively under his mask and glanced at his older brother. Nightwing gave him a nod and the younger man cleared his throat. "This isn't your training session," he said, the attention now focused on him. "We placed these dummies here for you to give us a look at what you're capable of. Specifically in hand-to-hand combat ,some of you better than others if I was being honest."

"We've been at this for an hour already," Dan complained. "What's the point of 'training' if we aren't allowed to use our powers?"

"Isn't it already evident? Obviously, combat training would be more than efficient in case of an emergency wherein their powers would be deemed useless or in other cases, be removed, you uneducated lamebrain," Lilinette rolled her eyes.

"How can we not use our powers?" Green inquired. "It's not like they could be removed just like that."

"I've read something about inhibitor collars of some sort," IIeana informed them. "The latest models restrain superpowers completely, quite interesting if you think about it."

"Latest models?" Isaac parroted. "You mean some people actually sell these things, let alone _buy_ them?"

The dark haired girl shrugged. "It's a possibility but I'm not one hundred percent sure."

"This is preposterous," Rumple remarked, his brow furrowed. "Do you mean to say that in this day and age, not only do humans possess 'powers' quite possibly given to them by the gods but mere humans could take them away as well? This is whole new world is getting stranger and more unrealistic every second."

"Dude, you're a freaking sorcerer we found in the ice, you shouldn't have a say on what's normal and what isn't," Isaac piped up.

"A lot of things have changed in the past two-hundred years," Keiji added in. "Superheroes, villains, anti-heroes, whatever, they all come and go."

"With some exceptions of course," Isaac said. "Some people have been in the business for years and don't look like they'll be stopping anytime soon."

"Oh yeah?" Dan challenged. "Like who?"

"Batman, who else?"

"Batman is almost like an immortal, he's been patrolling Gotham for more than fifteen years. I mean, the guy has to have aged after a while."

"Curiosity killed the cat," Green shrugged.

IIeana frowned. "Curiosity is the desire to learn or know more about something or someone, not something that murders felines."

"It was a metaphor, IIeana," Keiji supplied.

She continued to frown . "The topic at the matter does peek my curiosity though."

"Who wouldn't be interested in Batman?" Keiji inquired. "He's a great tactician, master in combat and weaponry. Makes me wonder who he really is under all of that."

"My guess is that he's some sort of secret agent."

"No way, the guy isn't even human. He could be an alien for all we know."

"I suppose that he's someone who is a part of the higher society, his weapons and resources speak for themselves on that matter."

"Isn't there the slightest of possibilities that Batman is just an ordinary guy doing the right thing?" Calvin asked.

"Bullshit," Dan objected. "This is Batman_, _the 'Dark Knight' we're talking about here."

"I'm sure that he's just an ordinary person on the inside, like the rest of us," Calvin objected.

"Who is this man of Bats you speak of?" Rumple questioned, annoyed that he didn't quite understand what his 'teammates' we're talking about.

"Batman is the vigilante who patrols one of the most crime-ridden cities in the country, otherwise known as Gotham City. As his name suggests, he wears a bat costume and is known for having countless allies who assist him," IIeana informed him in a matter-of-factly tone.

"And he's one of the best superheroes...like ever," Isaac nodded.

"Batman isn't who he appears to be under his cowl," Lilinette announced. "It took me a while for my sources and I to figure it out and yet I can't say that I'm not surprised."

That tipped their curiosity of to the edge. "You know who he is?" Half of them chorused in disbelief.

"Didn't any of you hear anything I just said? Honestly, I can't tell if you people are deaf or just really dense."

Rumple clenched his jaw at her words, sharing a look with Keiji and Dan who were thinking the exact same thing. But the rest of them were far too engrossed in the topic to care. "Well, who is he, then?"

She shrugged as if it were nothing. "Batman is in fact-"

"Moving on," Red Robin interrupted their conversation before they could move on to more..._confidential_ topics. The two bats had been sneaked out of the room unnoticed to talk about something that Bruce himself had instructed Tim to tell his brother...Only to walk back into the room to find the team talking about _Batman_, of all topics.

Thankfully for Red Robin and Nightwing, the sound of the Titans' leader's voice made the teenagers jumped in surprise and fell silent.

Nightwing held back a chuckle, it was clear that Tim's presence in the Cave intimated the teenagers enough to make them hesitant and in some cases, hold back their usually sharp tongues. They had little to no idea how Tim, no _Red Robin_ lead his team so he found it interesting to see how his team would react to someone else's style of leading. So overall, the whole situation was simply a learning experience, in adapting to situations you aren't used to, and how to follow orders.

"We'll be doing drills," Red Robin announced and Nightwing swore that he could see the sides of his lip twitch in an almost-smirk at his own words. "Everything from simple self-defense to different kinds of martial arts."

So for the next few of hours, Red Robin and Nightwing worked them to the bone like the slave-drivers that they were, well according to both Rumple and Dan (not like they said that out loud, they'd be dead.) Everything from push-ups, sit-ups and chin-ups to planks and stance-practices.

_"Is this a type of twenty-first century torture?" Rumple wheezed out. "It's absolutely abhorrent."_

_ "It's only planking, guys. No big deal," Nightwing chuckled. "Also, don't forget to align your elbows with your shoulders."_

_ "Do you guys do these kind of workouts everyday?" Green asked as a drop of her sweat dripped down her face._

_ Nightwing and Red Robin shared knowing twin expressions that seriously creeped everyone in the room out. _

Nightwing had added in a personal request into his brother's usual training sequence. He made the teenagers do some 'flexibility training' as he called it and had them perform toe-touches, splits, bridges, leg-lifts and everything that would've made a normal human being snap their spine out of place. And with him being the unfair acrobat that he was, he had the audacity to do the tricks himself as a 'demonstration.'

_Green, Dan and Rumple stared in utter awe when Nightwing brought his leg up into a needle **(1) **and touched his chin with his foot like it was nothing. But that wasn't all, no of course not, the flexible son of a bitch slipped down into a perfect split with ease, bending his back into the spilt and reaching his arm out to grab his right foot and pulled it upwards. IIeana, Keiji, Isaac visibly cringed at the act of contortion displayed in front of them whilst Lilinette actually looked impressed. _

_He stayed in that position for a while (which had Rumple doubting whether Nightwing was actually human or not) and once he stood up, he looked over at them and clapped his hands together. "Okay, who's next?"_

_ "You want us...to do that?" Isaac asked in fear for the muscles and bones in his body._

_ "Yes, would you like to go first, Isaac?"_

_ The seventeen year old shook his head frantically and pointed at Keiji, who glared at him in return. "Maybe if I got my spine removed. What about you, Calvin?"_

_ "No thanks, I'll stick to my ice-powers."_

_ "Don't listen to him," Red Robin chimed in. "He's not actually gonna make any of you do that, even Batman himself isn't that flexible."_

_ "You'll never know unless you try~" Nightwing sing-songed, managing to get into another painful looking position wherein he was doing a handstand and his feet were parallel with his ears._

_ "We'll all pass," Keiji assured him, wincing again when the acrobat twisted his body even more._

_ "Fine," the ebony sighed. "We'll do something a little bit easier."_

So after twenty more minutes of stretching themselves like human rubber bands (or at least trying to), everyone apart from Red Robin and Nightwing themselves were beat.

To top it all off, Red Robin made each and every single one of them spar at least five rounds with another team member, each round being two full minutes. Which in sparring time, was equivalent to about half an hour of punching, kicking, dodging and thinking on the spot.

"Sadistic troll," Nightwing said soft enough for only his brother to hear.

"I learned from the best," Red Robin smoothly replied.

"Don't look now, but there's a pretty good spar going on right now."

Both former Robins watched with concealed expressions as Lilinette sparred with Dan. The two Robins had agreed on not letting the meta-humans of the group use their superpowers in order for their spars to be fair, so here they were.

Lilinette ducked to avoid a kick coming from Dan, she grabbed his wrist and used all her strength to twist his arm and flip the older boy over, making him land on his back.

The voice on the floor came to life along with a red glowing circle.** "FAIL: STONE,"** it said, reminding Nightwing of the countless sparring sessions he had as a kid with Wally, Kaldur, M'gann, Conner and Artemis.

"Ouch," Isaac whistled. "That _has_ got to hurt."

"An insult to injury if you ask me," Keiji added, earning noises of agreement coming from the other youths.

"I cannot believe it," Rumple exclaimed. "He has been defeated by a child half his age and a third of his size. It's unbelievable, almost like a forbidden type of sorcery."

"No sorcery was involved, only pure skill and sharpness of the senses," Lilinette declared.

Rumple continued to stare at Dan in amazement whilst Dan glared at them. "The gods out there must really fucking hate me, now don't they?" He mumbled to himself frustratedly.

"Well this has certainly become interesting," Nightwing commented, his hands on his waist.

The black haired man turned to him."To be fair, most of your team pleasantly surprised me with their hand-to-hand combat skills and stamina," Red Robin told his brother.

"That's just what they do," Nightwing shrugged. "They're just full of surprises."

"Speaking of surprises, where's your partner? Aren't you two usually attached at the hip?"

"Captain Cold and the rest of the Rogues escaped from prison, he had to make an emergency run back to Central."

They both turned back to the group where the teens were either panting, sweating, resting or all of the above. Training weapons were scattered on the floor, poor unfortunate punching bags and training dummies that needed to be replaced and not to mention the amount of sweat on the floor that needed to be mopped.

"Take a break," Nightwing said loudly, not missing the relieved sighs and tired whoops of gratefulness. What they didn't know was that Tim's training sessions weren't nearly as intense compared to what Bruce made them go through before they could hit the streets as Robin. A mental image of Batman training the team popped into his head and he shook his head in sympathy for the kids who would have to face the highly unrealistic standards of the Dark Knight himself.

"And you call me the sadist," Red Robin snickered. "Do you think they can handle Batman's training regimen?"

"No one can handle the Big Guy's training, even us," Nightwing muttered before breaking out into a nostalgic smile. "And if I could remember correctly, a certain twelve year old boy came knocking on my apartment door one night and asked for sweets since Batman didn't let you have some unless you were able to finish the obstacle course he set up in record time."

Red Robin promptly face palmed. "Do you have to bring that up right now?"

"No, but there's no need to be ashamed, baby brother. You were so adorable."

The younger man's face now matched the color of his uniform in embarrassment,_ trust Nightwing to constantly bring up old memories to humiliate him_. "Shut up, you have a team to train."

"Whatever you say, Timmy-bird."

**BREAKLINE**

"Nice of you to come home so early. I can't say that I was expecting that," Sel greeted casually as Nightwing crawled into the window of his apartment. She was dressed in a Superman t-shirt and a pair of black pajama pants and was sitting comfortably on an armchair. Watching an episode of some obviously scripted reality show with a mug of cocoa resting in her hands.

"You'll never know what to expect with me around," he replied just as casually. "Red Robin dropped by the Cave today and volunteered to train them with me."

"By 'dropped by' and 'volunteered', you mean you asked him about a hundred times before he got annoyed and agreed to do it."

"Are you sure you're not a mind-reader?" The acrobat joked. "Or are you just a really good detective?" He asked, walking over to his bedroom to change into something more comfortable.

Sel only had to wait a few minutes until the ebony emerged from his bedroom now wearing a loose t-shirt and sweats. He opened his mouth to say something but Sel knew what he was thinking and beat him to the punch.

"Jason just left, he said he's been gone for too long and has to make sure everything hasn't burned to the ground just yet."

Dick bummed in reply and fished his favorite mug from one of the cupboards.

"How're you doing by the way?" Sel asked.

"Same old, same old."

"Ah, you mean business with your team, of course, it's not like you do anything else these days."

"You're one to talk."

"S'not my fault," Sel defended. "You don't even have a love-life anymore, it's sad. Seriously, when was the last time you had a date with someone? A proper date, I mean, fighting off aliens doesn't count."

"I can't say I have, kid. What about you? Any people me or Jason should now about?" He asked half-jokingly.

"Single Pringle," Sel admitted happily. "I'm twelve and dating just isn't my thing, you know?"

He nodded and they watched two of the girls bicker and yell at each other in front of the camera. Dick eventually got bored of it, competitive reality shows were entertaining at first, but he was going to lose a lot of brain-cells if he continued watching these kinds of TV shows.

"Wanna hang-out at the Cave sometime?" The acrobat offered out of the blue.

"You serious?" Sel questioned skeptically, thinking that the man was just kidding. "After months of staying incognito, it's suddenly okay for me to just walk into your hideout like that?"

"Yeah," he replied. "I've thought things over and after all that you've done. You deserve to see the Cave and meet them, if that's what you want of course," Dick explained, leaning his back on the kitchen counter and taking a sip of the sweet liquid he seemingly conjured out of nowhere.

"Warm milk?" The twelve year old inquired. "First you get in here acting all weird, well at least weirder than usual, and now you're not drinking your usual coffee. Something's wrong, now spill."

"I can't get anything past you now can't I?"

"Thanks, but flattery doesn't distract be from being your counselor in this," Sel proclaimed, setting herself on top of the kitchen counter sitting in an Indian position.

"Are you serious?" Dick asked, his mug of warm milk still in his hands.

"When am I not serious?"

"About seventy-five percent of the time."

"Point conceded, now tell me what's wrong."

So with one last sigh, he spilled the beans and before he knew it, he was slipping into a mini-rant. He told her about his growing hesitation, the amount of paperwork he had to help Donna and Kyle with whenever he was at the Watchtower and other things. And Sel listened, nodding along as he told her stories and stuff that weren't necessarily related to the main topics but neither of them minded. They had strayed away from talking about his problems about twenty minutes ago and now they were just talking.

"-So let me get this straight," Sel cut him off before he could continue with the next sentence. "You hacked the motion sensors? Dude, you were such a bad-ass as a kid."

Dick pretended to be hurt by her statement. "What about now? Am I not a badass anymore?"

She shook her hand indecisively. "Maybe, maybe not, old man."

"Hey! Would you stop it with the old people jokes? I'm only twenty-five."

"Would you rather I continue with the inappropriate innuendo jokes?"

"Oh God, please don't do those ever again," Dick groaned. "New house rule; don't ever make jokes about these kinds of things ever again."

Sel flipped her hair over her shoulder theatrically. "I can't help but be fabulous," she said, making the man laugh.

"Thanks, Sel. Jason's told me that you were quite the optimist but I think you have the uncanny ability to make people smile."

Sel perked up and it was all rainbows and sunshine from there. "Thanks. But I gotta ask, does that offer still stand?" She inquired, trying not to sound too hopeful.

She received a nod and a grin in response and she would be lying if she said that she didn't do a little happy dance in her head at the reply.

**(1) A 'needle' is a gymnastics/acrobatic trick where you bring your leg up and straighten it completely (or if you're flexible enough, bring it up to your face or something) whilst holding it up with one or two hands. Go search up 'needle acro trick' on Google if you want a better visual.**

** About the combat training/types of kicks/whatever, I used to take Tae Kwon Do and I was about to take the exam to become a black-belt but my knee ligament tore and I had to quit. *Cringes***

** Oh well, I don't have anything else to say so see you all next chapter.**

** -BirdsSpeedandArrows xx**


	16. Chapter 16

**Hey guys, here's the list of villain aliases if you're confused:**

**Alissa- Earthquake**

**Shyler- Quick Kid**

**Nikole- Gadgette**

**'Amy'- Amethyst (pretty much the same thing)**

**Wren- (It's still Wren, like how Artemis used her name.)**

**Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

Little Red strolled through the empty halls of the Cave looking for Nightwing as if she were on an Easter egg hunt.

"Wing? You up in the rafters again?" She called out, not really expecting an answer.

She frowned after five more minutes and contemplated on giving up and raiding the large ass fridge in the kitchen to check if these people had a few pints of ice-cream that they could spare.

She suddenly bumped into something very _tall_ and looked up to see a tall brown haired teenager who was staring down at her with a raised eyebrow, which made her kinda uncomfortable considering their obvious height difference. Well maybe he _was_ exactly a foot taller than her, but that wasn't the point.

"Who are you? Aren't there enough kids on this team already?" Dan asked quizically.

The girl however, wasn't affected by his rather harsh questions. Instead, she held out her hand for him to shake. "Little Red Riding Hood. Most people call me Little Red."

"I can tell from your costume," Dan remarked dryly, looking at her bright red cloak.

Little Red shrugged, eyeing the Cave (which in her opinion, didn't look much like a Cave on the inside as it did the outside) "So what do you guys do here for fun?"

"Nothing. Our 'team' doesn't really play video games or watch movies together or some other useless shit like that," Dan deadpanned. "Much to Nightwing's disappointment," he added at the end.

The pre-teen raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "That's unfortunate, it's such a nice place after all," She then frowned at the older boy. "Hey! I just realized you didn't tell me _your_ name."

"It's none of your business," he replied.

Little Red just smiled. "Nice to meet you, _Mr. It's None Of Your Business._ I don't suppose your hero-name is Captain-Rude-For-No-Reason-Whatsoever."

Dan, for once in his life, didn't quite have a sarcastic response to that, he sighed. "Call me Dan. Stone when on the field."

The girl visibly brightened up. "I can't tell you my real name just yet, but I think that you and I are going to be great friends."

Dan raised an eyebrow. "So do you fight the Big Bad Wolf or something?"

Little Red dismissed his comment with a wave of her hand. "I don't know how to tell you this but I've heard of that joke hundreds of times in the past, so you gotta come up with a new one."

"Whatever, but just how old are you, kid? Ten? Eleven?"

"Twelve actually," she corrected. "But good guess."

"I'm not here to play a game, kid. Where's Nightwing?"

The younger girl shrugged. "I don't know, this Cave's a pretty big place."

"Who's your mentor, kid?" Dan asked, in total honesty he really was curious who the girl's mentor was, for a non-meta human, she really could pack a punch. "And what exactly are you doing here? This isn't a playground, you know."

"You said you didn't want to play a game," Little Red pointed out. "And here you are, playing twenty questions."

Dan faltered. She _did_ have a point there. "Just answer my question."

"Which one?"

"What are you doing here?"

Little Red was about to point out that's she did assist them in taking down Gorilla Grodd but then she remembered that he was unconscious at the time. "I need to see Nightwing, why're _you_ looking for him?

Dan crossed his arms against his chest. He couldn't believe that a kid like her would even think of going out every night to fight criminals twice her size and thrice her age. Well maybe he was a bit of a hypocrite considering that he was only seventeen but at age twelve? That was crazy. He very much didn't appreciate the idea of little kids pulling on costumes and throwing themselves off of buildings. (With the exception of Lilinette because let's face it, the kid was borderline insane all on her own.) It was a crazy idea all on it's own and his instincts told him that this kid was most likely _not_ a meta-human.

Sneaking a glance at the side of her utility belt, his eye caught a bright glimmer of the color red along with a sleek black. "Is that a Heckler &amp; Koch Mark 23 painted the color red?"

"Yes and no," she replied, slipping the weapon out of it's holster and handing it to him. "Lots of folks complained that the real thing was too heavy and not anything special but my mentor pulled some strings and had a special gun made to look like a Mark 23. We didn't want anything that looked too flashy so that's why we had something look normal on the outside but really effective on the inside," she explained. "The bright red was just my own personal addition to it all."

"That's a smart thing to do," Dan said, inspecting the weapon in his hand. "I'm no expert but this could pack a good punch now can't it?"

"I'm impressed, hotshot. I didnt expect some goody-hero like you to be interested these kinds of stuff, no offense," Little Red grinned.

"None taken," he snickered. "And the thing about me being a goody-good? You're totally wrong there, that spot belongs to our 'leader' Calvin."

"Well aren't you two having a civilized conversation?" A cheery voice said, startling them a little. '_Freaking Nightwing and his damn ninja skills,' _Dan thought.

"Were you listening to our conversation this whole time?" Dan demanded to know.

"Of course not," Nightwing defended himself. "I was just looking for something short, bubbly and the color red all over."

"So you actually know this kid?" Dan asked.

"If I hadn't, I would've said so."

Dan waited for him to explain further but when the acrobat didn't, he took matters into his own hands.

"That information isn't really one to be shared," The twelve year old said sheepishly. "But we won't get angry if you managed to figure it out."

Dan stared at them in confusion. "What do you mean?"

The two shared a look and instead of replying, they turned around and started to walk away. "Think of it as a training exercise, Dan. It'll put your detective and researching skills to the test!" Nightwing called as he guided Little Red into the main room.

"Extra training exercises are the last things I want right now," the brunet grumbled as he followed the two.

**BREAKLINE**

"Who's the new kid?" Isaac queried, facing Nigtwing and Flash.

"Little Red Riding Hood at your service," the twelve year old said with a low bow. "Little Red for short."

"So what are your superpowers?" Keiji asked curiously, interested in the newest addition of their group.

"I don't have any," Little Red shrugged. "Weapons and hand-to-hand combat are my forte."

Lilinette narrowed her eyes at the older girl, her face crossed in a frown. "Then what kind weapons _do_ you use?"

"Guns and a few knives for the most part," Little Red informed her casually, earning a few dropped jaws and raised eyebrows at the mention of 'guns' (the most commendable being Wally's but everyone's attention already drawn to Little Red.)

Lilinette didn't look impressed, her face tightened into an even deeper frown. "Then why in the Earth's name are you dressed like a cheap harlot?"

Little Red blinked at the insult but replied nonetheless. "Red's my favorite color, what can I say? But I get where you're coming from, nothing beats the whole gothic princess look you're sporting."

Lilinette glared daggers at the older girl and clenched her fists so hard her knuckles turned white. "Excuse me?"

The young anti-hero tilted her head to the side. "What? You wear a black mask, a long-sleeved black and purple dress with a sash at the waist, black leggings and knee-length boots. If I didn't know better I'd say that your whole look was based off of a gothic superhero version of Snow White," she shrugged.

Lilinette let out a sound that crossed in between a growl and a hiss and looked ready to pounce on the other girl but Keiji and Dan were holding her back. Isaac was holding back his laughter whilst Rumple just looked confused and IIeana was indifferent.

"Any other topics you need to discuss?" The scarlet speedster asked all of them dryly. His sarcasm was at full force but no one seemed to notice and they carried on.

"Have you decided on your hero alias yet, Rumple?" Green asked the dark haired sorcerer with a smile.

"Yes," he replied curtly. "I've decided to go with the name 'Gold Mage' for obvious reasons."

Nightwing, noticing Wally's reaction to not being noticed, cleared his throat to get the teens' attention and it worked like a charm. "Now that everything is settled, let's get down to business, and no Calvin, not to defeat the Huns from Mulan," he said rapidly, as much as he found Calvin's movie references to be fun, they really needed to be debriefed about their mission.

**BREAKLINE**

As soon as the younger heroes left the Cave and were out of earshot, Nightwing pulled Wally to the side, taking a hold on his wrist and pulling him to the hallway.

"Dude- What are you doing? Hey, ow, ow!"

Once they were at the safety of the hallway,

the younger man crossed his arms over his chest. "Don't think that I don't know what happened the other day."

"I have no idea what you're-" Wally tried to object but a look from Nightwing made him falter. Who was he kidding? Of course he couldn't lie to him just like that because A.) Dick knew him as well as he knew himself and B.) He was a bat.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Why didn't you tell me about the kid?" Wally countered, sounding more hurt than angry. "Dude, how long have you been hiding this from me?"

The younger man looked down at his feet, his black bangs falling in front of his face. "Three months."

"Three months? Longer than the team's been together?" Wally frowned, his lips drawing into a thin line.

"I made a promise, alright?" Nightwing sighed, he didn't want to argue with Wally, that was the last thing he wanted right now so he might as well come clean. "Jason asked me to keep it a secret until very recently and I just couldn't..."

"I understand," Wally cut him off. "It's your little brother we're talking about here, dude. And we both know that you're not one to turn down favors, you're just too nice for that."

"I'm sorry," the ebony said. "It's my fault. _Fuck_, I promised that I wouldn't be such an ass anymore but-"

"Don't you dare say that again," Wally warned, bringing up the younger man's chin with his two fingers so their eyes were locked in with each other even behind the masks. "It wasn't your fault, dude. You know how I am- I'm faster with my feet than I am with my brain. I didn't mean to get angry with you. Hell, even if I did, I can't stay mad at you, you're my baby brother for crying out loud."

"Thanks, Wally," the acrobat said, looking up at the red-head. "I really appreciate this," he added and it was totally true. Despite their petty little arguments and bumps along the road, because even if they both changed, _they were still best friends_.

"Anytime, lil' bro, anytime," The speedster chuckled. "So are we okay now?"

"Yeah, of course we are, Wall-man," Nightwing snickered at his friend.

"What do you say we have some pizza back at my place when the kids are done with their mission?" The speedster offered, placing his hand on his best friend's shoulder.

The ebony was surprised by the offer but let a (dorky) grin make it's way to his face. "That sounds..._asterous_, dude."

_**BREAKLINE**_

"So this is the place, right?" Ever Green asked, her two sabre swords already in her hands.

"It looks like it," Switch nodded.

The place that Nightwing had sent them to was in the middle of a freaking nowhere, there were no cars, buildings or people in sight. The only signs of actual people being in here was the huge clunk of metal that Filo Rosso guessed was a crashed satellite. The metal was rusting and most, if not all of the outer parts were either damages or missing. Overall, it was just in very bad shape and looked like it was about to fall apart any second now.

"Nice to see you guys here," a red haired boy dressed in a black trench coat and matching domino mask greeted them. He was leaning on a lamppost and grinned at them toothily. "I'm Wren."

Fang couldn't stifle his chuckle at the other boy's name. "Wren, like the small black birds?"

"_Actually_, wrens are a small bird with brown feathers and short tails that point upward," Filo Rosso corrected.

"Skip the pleasantries and bullshit," Stone narrowed his eyes. "Our sources say that major destruction of the city has happened recently and all evidence points to you guys. So it's either you start talking or we'll just have to make you talk."

"Don't engage the enemy, we should strike at them when they least expect it," Ice murmured to Nova who nodded in agreement.

"Don't even try to plan anything behind our backs," a tall blonde girl dressed in gray and black sneered. "We know you guys do all of Wingnut and Fast-Feet's dirty work so you babies might as well come home to your mommies and daddies," Earthquake mocked like every amateur villain in the book.

Fang ignored the girl's words and instead looked over at Amethyst. "Wow, I know you guys are supposed to be our enemies and all, but the girl over there in blue is _really_ pretty. Like supermodel-level pretty," Fang winked at Amethyst, earning a few glares from his teammates.

"Aww thanks," Amethyst smiled at him, twirling a piece of her hair with her finger. "You're not too bad yourself, cutie."

The dirty blonde looked taken aback at the reply but kept his dazzling smile on. "In all honesty, I'd rather go on a date with you than fight you if you don't mind."

"Oh I don't mind at all," the girl purred, nibbling on her bottom lip flirtatiously.

"Quit flirting with the enemy!" Quick Kid and Stone yelled at their respective teammates.

"We're not here to chit-chat so are you going to fight us or not?" Nova snapped in irritation.

Quick Kid smirked mischievously and in a blink of an eye, he zipped all the way across the room and wrapped his arms around Nova's neck holding up a sharp knife to the girl's throat. "Gotcha."

Nova took the chance to grab the teenager by his arm and brought her knees to her chest, using his body as a makeshift springboard enough for her to jump and flip him over. "As if."

**BREAKLINE**

"We really should've paid more attention to Flash when he taught us how to avoid quick attacks," Fang yelped, jumping away to avoid a large mass of ground being flung in his direction courtesy of the crazy blonde chick who could control freaking boulders.

"And so it begins," Amethyst chuckled, moving her head to the side when Stone tried to come up from behind her to hit her from behind.

"That was a sad punch, darling. Like what kind of hero are you if you can't even hit a girl?"

"The one that's about to kick your ass," Stone retorted smoothly, changing his skin into stone and cracked his knuckles. But before he could do anything, the girl blew him a mocking kiss.

"Thanks for the offer, but you're not my type," She said before flying off to find someone else to fight.

**BREAKLINE**

"Remind me again why Gadgette couldn't be here," Quick Kid hissed at his leader through his communicator link, using his super speed to make mini tornadoes by running around in circles.

"Don't be so whiny, Quick," Earthquake snapped. "I sent them both on another mission so you might as well shut the fuck up if you don't want to end up hurt."

Meanwhile, Gold Mage was about to finish his incantation to weaken Earthquake's powers but a sudden, tight, painful feeling overcame him especially at his mid-torso and he yelled in pain, a bright lavender color entered his sight and visions of his past...before he got frozen in the ice.

_ "You've healed me," the girl said, clutching the space where the bleeding wound was now gone. "But how?"_

_ "Go back to your village," he replied, his hood still up to hide his face from the girl. "Now."_

_**CLICK!**_

_ "Please, I do not wish to marry this man, I am begging you, do anything in your power to stop this marriage. Please."_

_ "And what shall I get in return?" He asked dryly._

_ "I will do anything for you, please just let me come with you. I shall pledge my service to you for the rest of my life if I have to."_

_ "I am intrigued by your offer..."_

_**CLICK!**_

_ "You've traded life with one monster for another," he said dryly, watching as the girl placed her hand on his, making him stiffen at the touch._

_ "You aren't a monster, you know that."_

_**CLICK!**_

"Look at what we have here," Amethyst cooed teasingly as she waved her finger to tighten the bonds around Gold Mage's torso. "You're a sorcerer, aren't you?"

The dark haired boy glared at her, his vision blurred by the drops of tears threatening to spill from his eyes. "As if I would ever say anything to a demonic creature like yourself," he spat.

"No need to be so mean," she said condescendingly, tightening the bonds once again and making him groan in pain. "We're all friends here, now aren't we?"

A low growl escaped from Gold Mage but it was completely ignored by the girl. "To think of it, you're not too shabby looking yourself now aren't you, _Rumplestiltskin_."

Gathering his strength, he quickly muttered a strong spell that made the girl shriek in pain and stagger back, releasing him from her magic bonds.

Amethyst got up from the ground and scowled, brushing off the dust on her costume, she flared in anger, blue eyes turning into the color purple (much like her namesake.) "You're going to pay for that, you little brat."

"Tre!" Filo Rosso yelled for her drone and it attacked, flying towards Wren, making his eyes widen and he shot at it blindly, a few of the stray bullets actually hitting it but not doing actual damage.

Her other drone, Due, formed a force field around her to ensure that she wouldn't get hurt. Tre and gave of a stunning electric shock, leaving Wren screaming in pain.

Ice was using his powers to cover the road up in a cold frost, making it nearly impossible for Quick Kid to run across the streets, although the teenage speedster fast, he was absolutely nowhere near the speed of Flash, Kid Flash, or anyone in the so- called 'Flash family'.

Meanwhile, Earthquake sent a giant hunk of rock towards Nova and Switch, the boy ducking and rolling with only a few seconds to spare.

Just when it looked like the younger girl was about to be flattened into a human pancake, a flash of the color pink and red, took her into her arms and pushed her into the other direction, landing on top of her with a _thud_.

Both girls winced at the impact but Little Red scrambled off Nova, doing a quick scan to check if she was injured.

"Did you just save me?" Nova questioned, looking up at Little Red wearily.

"Of course I did, I may not be a part of this team but I sure as hell won't let you die out there," Little Red said, letting the faintest of smiles spread across her face.

A loud explosion filled their ears accompanied by a bright green light.

"Ever Green took off her goggles!" Switch shouted, though not really having to do so considering that everyone could probably tell what just happened.

And it was true, the fifteen year old saw that she was fighting a losing battle (literally) and had no choice but to take off her goggles. The intensity of the blast was strong enough to knock Quick Kid and Wren over, dirt getting all over them and their now-torn up clothing.

"Earthquake!" Amethyst suddenly shouted at the blonde over the sounds of battle. "Code 15! We don't have a choice!"

"Fuck," Earthquake muttered under her breath. "Wren! Quick Kid! Code 15!"

The two boys' heads snapped up at that and they shared twin 'oh shit' expressions on their faces. Quick Kid grabbed Wren's wrist and used his superspeed to stand closer to Earthquake and Amethyst. Once the four of them were huddled together, Amethyst recited a spell.

"It was nice playing with you but we have to go~" Amethyst called in a mocking voice, her eyes glowing once more, making a tornado of purple dust swirl around them.

The teenage heroes shielded their eyes at the brightness once more and once said brightness disappeared, Gold Mage was the first to recover and stare at the now-empty space in shock. The four teenagers they had fought with just a few minutes ago were _gone_.

"They disappeared," Gold Mage said in awe. "I've only seen that spell a few times in my very long life and none of those times were particularly good ones."

"What was so weird about it? It was just a burst of an ugly shade of purple after all," Fang joked in an attempt to lighten up the mood but he was ignored for the most part.

"That was not an ordinary disappearing spell, it was a complex style of magic associated with dimension travel," Gold Mage explained slowly.

"Are you saying that they had somehow managed to enter other dimensions?" Filo Rosso quipped.

His gaze turned even more serious and he nodded. "That is _exactly_ what I am saying."

**BREAKLINE**

"So what do we do now?" Switch asked his teammates, rubbing off some of the dirt on his face.

"We go back to The Cave, I guess," Fang shrugged. "Report to Nightwing and Flash, get a good night's sleep."

"Little Red? Aren't you going to come along with us?" Ice asked confusedly when the girl walked in the other direction.

"There's something I have to take care of first, you guys go on ahead," the brown haired girl explained, pulling her hood up to her face.

"Are you sure about that?" Stone questioned in an uncharacteristic act of concern. "You could get hurt out there and you wouldn't have a way to contact

"You guys shouldn't be worried about me. I promise I won't get captured by Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy or anyone of the sort," she reassured.

"Well if you're sure..." Stone tried to say but Little Red interrupted him.

"I'm sure, and if anything goes wrong I promise to treat you all to burgers or something," she grinned at them before pulling out her handglider and disappearing in a blur of the color red.

Fang whistled as she 'flew' away. "That's one hell of a kid Nightwing found off the streets."

"Are all children of this century like this?" Gold Mage gazed after Little Red. "

"Of course not," Nova scoffed. "There are only a handful of people like ourselves and she may or may not be one of them. She's a moron, much like the rest of you."

"Oh really? Because that's not what you said after she saved your ass from a giant boulder heading in your direction," Stone jeered at the shorter girl.

"Don't you dare speak to me that way, you know-nothing hammerhead!"

"Make me."

Nova's glare intensified. "When I'm done with you, I swear I-"

"-Nova, Stone, you two have to stop arguing if we're gonna make this work," Ice began to lecture.

"You have no need to stop them from arguing, it's actually quite enjoyable," Rumple interjected, not bothered by the heated glares sent in his direction from his statement.

"Instead of staying here and arguing, I suggest we get back to base before Nightwing and Flash put all of our heads on platters," Fang pointed out sheepishly.

"I highly doubt they would do that," Filo Rosso shook her head. "They didn't spend four months of their lives to train us only to end up murdering us. It's very unlikely."

"It was a metaphor," Switch sighed, trying to teach IIeana slang words was nearly as impossible as trying to get Rumple to understand how cellphones worked.

"Like the Fault In Our Stars," Ice piped in. "There were a lot of metaphors in that movie, in fact I-"

"Metaphor or no metaphor, could we just go home already?" Nova fussed. "You airheads _do_ realize that we're standing in an alleyway, in full costume nonetheless and talking about figures of speeches when we really should be doing something less pointless."

"I agree with Nova, Nightwing will be looking for us soon," Filo Rosso added and the seven of them spent the rest of the trip back home in silence.

**BREAKLINE**

"Well that was incredibly disappointing," the young assassin muttered to himself. "And to think that they've improved over the course of a few months, what was I even thinking?"

"You're a cocky one aren't you?" A young voice remarked not too far from him. Little Red emerged from the shadows behind a water tank with her arms crossed and red hood up.

"And who might you be?" He asked, not sounding the least bit interested.

"Depends, who are _you_?"

He rolled his eyes under his mask. Seriously, people could be so annoying sometimes, _especially children_. "I asked you first."

Little Red almost laughed at the unexpected childlike reply. "Sorry short-stuff_, _but I've used that trick myself hundreds of times in the past so it won't work on me, nice try though," she stalled, trying to get as much information on this shady- looking kid who was like half a foot shorter than her.

"You're avoiding my question."

"So are you."

"You're the one who talked to me in the first place."

"What would anyone do if they saw a three and a half foot child crouching in the shadows looking all shady and mysterious like that?" Little Red retorted.

"They would've stayed away. Which is something that you should've done."

"People tell me that I have a knack for getting myself into danger."

He glared at her pointedly. "Enough small talk, if you're planning to do something then I suggest you get it over with. I'm already behind schedule as it is."

Little Red raised her hands up in mock defense. "No need to be so uptight, kid, you'll get wrinkles like that."

"I highly doubt that."

"Listen, I'm not gonna attack you for no apparent reason, okay? That's just not my style."

A voice at the back of the younger boy's head yelled at him to just get over with it and decapitate her, which was something he would've done earlier if it weren't for his master's orders. He was under strict instruction that he not kill anyone just yet. It was far too early in the game for that.

"Then are you done interrogating me for my nonexistent crime?" He asked impatiently.

"I wouldn't say nonexistent. The last time I checked, it was against the law for regular citizens to carry weapons such as yours," she stated, gesturing at the sword he carried on his back that was resting safely in it's sheath. She didn't have to take a closer look at it to see that it was most likely a brand new custom made or an ancient one of a kind. "And let's not forget the amount of knives and other blades on your body enough for a whole team to use."

"Well in case you haven't noticed, I'm no ordinary citizen. Besides, _you're_ one to talk about breaking the law, Little Red Riding Hood."

Little Red narrowed her eyes at him. "Just tell me what you're doing here and I promise to leave you alone."

"And let you run back to Nightwing and tell him all about it? No way."

"You got something against Nightwing?" Little Red pushed.

"You're not exactly subtle in asking questions, aren't you?" He jeered mockingly. "Though I can't blame you for that, you have potential but compared to me, you're still a newbie."

Little Red would've chuckled if it weren't for that sinking feeling in her gut that even if this kid was half her age and three-fourths of her size, he possessed a dark and dangerous aura around him that didn't sit with her quite well. "It's not everyday I see someone smaller and younger than I am so I'm curious, just how old are you, short-stuff?"

The boy tightened his fists and his fingers itched for one of his knives to test just how good this girl was but then he remembered his master telling him about dropping a few hints and sighed loudly. "If you decide to tell Nightwing about me, which I know you will. You may call me 'R', nothing more, nothing less."

Little Red opened her mouth to say something but he didn't waste another second as a puff of thick gray smoke burst out of a small metal capsule he lay on the ground and he disappeared, not leaving a trace behind.

The young anti-hero was left to scrutinize the scene as carefully as she could, her mind spiraling into different theories and possibilities only to arrive at a dead-end. She wasn't much of a detective but she might as well try for the sake of it. "Well my night has suddenly become even more interesting."

**Thank you guys so much for everything. I can't believe it! You guys are incredible! I'd like to give a special shoutout to AsgardianGrizzly and iamgoku for being really supportive since I started writing this so I can't thank you guys so much.**

**Thank you once again and I hope to see you lovelies next chapter.**

** -BirdsSpeedandArrows xx**


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

Ever since the whole 'teenage villain' mission, Nightwing and Wally had both agreed that building trust amongst the teenagers was _more_ than necessary at this point and time.

'You need to bond more', that's simply what Flash told them before zooming out of the Cave and the next thing they knew, familiar bright red lights filled the room accompanied by loud siren-like noises.

"The Cave's going on lockdown mode!" Green yelled.

"What in the seven realms is going on here?" Rumple demanded.

Then out of nowhere a hologram, yes a freaking _hologram_ of none other than Flash himself appeared in the middle of the room and everyone's attentions snapped towards him.

"What's going on Flash?" Keiji asked worriedly. "I thought you guys fixed the whole lockdown thing a long time ago."

"We did," the speedster replied simply. "But we also wanted to make sure that none of you guys would leave so..."

"You're gonna lock us up in here again?" Dan questioned at the hologram.

"Again?" Rumple repeated suspiciously. "Is this a habit of yours? You people lock up your youths in ridiculous looking caves and force them to do your bidding?

"It's nothing like that, Rumple," Wally assured. "It's a trust-building exercise that you all very much need. Play video games, watch a movie marathon, _anything_, Wing and I took the initiative to stock up all the cabinets and the fridge with junk food and we've personally selected a hundred movies for you guys to pick out, so have fun! Call us up if any emergencies happen and we'll be right there in a flash."

He gave them all a quick salute and the hologram disappeared, leaving them in a stunned silence before Lilinette broke it.

"I thought you weren't even part of this team," Lilinette glanced at Little Red. "So what exactly are you doing here?"

"Nightwing insisted that I tag along since he knew I would die of boredom if he just left me alone," The brown haired girl answered with a shrug.

"So...is Nightwing your father, then?" Rumple asked.

The brunette nearly choked on her own spit at the sound of that. "Ewww! We're not even remotely related and plus, he's way too young to be my dad!"

"Well, is he your brother, then?" IIeana asked, curious that Little Red actually knew who Nightwing was under his mask.

"No, but he acts like it," The twelve year old shrugged. "Anything else?"

"Is he single?" Isaac quipped jokingly, not expecting to get a serious answer.

"Not even close, I've been trying to set him up on dates for weeks and all he's done is find a way to cancel them," Little Red huffed.

"Maybe because most people don't like to be set up on dates with people they don't know," Dan quipped in a less sarcastic and snarky and more of a 'state-the-obvious' manner.

"I never said anything about him not knowing those people,"

Green looked at the younger girl in surprise. "And you didn't get in trouble for doing that?"

Little Red cocked her head in thought and shook her hand indecisively. "Well he _did_ talk to me about interfering with other people's love lives but then after that he congratulated me that I was finally able to follow him without him noticing...Even if it was only for half an hour but it was _totally_ worth it," she mused with an easy smile. "Hey, did I ever tell you guys that Nightwing uses strawberry-scented shampoo? Because he totally does, same with honey-scented soap...and has dozens of hair products he doesn't even use."

Green and Keiji gave her a confused look. "No, no you haven't," The fifteen year old said slowly, the newly-shared information not sinking in just quite yet.

They were left in awkward silence after that and Little Red shifted on the balls of her feet sheepishly, though she was chatty, she wasn't used to silence, _especially_ the awkward kind. "So...now what?"

"Flash said something about a movie marathon, I suppose we could do that," Calvin suggested.

"What is this 'movie marathon'? Is this a newly-developed method of criminal interrogation?" Rumple inquired.

"We'll explain later, Rumple," Dan shook off the topic dismissively, not wanting to explain or hear anyone explain the logic behind watching movies. He didn't quite have a personal cinema growing up, but as a kid (and even now) movies were fun, they transported him into a different world completely and for a while, all his problems in this world were gone.

"I'll go get the popcorn then," Isaac told them, walking into the kitchen to pop the popcorn kernels in the microwave.

Rumple curiously followed the seventeen year old into the kitchen, frowning when he saw Isaac pull out a plastic covered object from one of the kitchen cabinets.

"Something wrong, Rum?" Isaac asked, noticing the look on the other boy's face.

"Don't call me that," the sorcerer said before pointing to the bag of uncooked popcorn in the teenager's hands. "What exactly is that?"

"Popcorn is corn in the form of hard yellow seeds that burst open and become soft and white when they are heated in the microwave," IIeana informed Rumple whilst walking into the kitchen to get a bottle of water.

Rumple gave both of them a blank look.

"Let me tell you how it works," Isaac said. "First you put your food into it, close the door, put in the time, wait and when you get back your food, it's hot. Pretty cool stuff, huh?"

Rumple frowned even more (if that was possible). "I have absolutely no desire to tamper with this enchanted heating device."

"Dude, it's called a microwave."

Before any more questions could be asked, Little Red walked into the kitchen with her hands stuffed into her pockets.

"Dan told me to get some more snacks, so here I am," she informed them, standing on her tip-toes to open the kitchen cabinets, revealing a cupboard filled with various junk food including bags of chips, pop tarts, colorful candy, packaged cookies and so much more. Little Red brightened up even more when she caught sight of a bag of Twix and the package of Oreos. "Sweet. _Literally_."

Little Red grabbed an armful of said sweets and proceeded out of the kitchen like it was no one's business. Looking over her shoulder with the pile still in her arms. "Popcorn looks about done, better put that in a bowl. There are a few big bowls in the last cabinet on the left by the way."

**BREAKLINE**

"Are you planning on getting diabetes or are you just really dense?" Lilinette remarked whilst Little Red dropped the bags and bags of junk food into the table in the middle of the living room.

"I'd like to think neither of the two," Little Red replied, not really noticing the sarcasm. "But no need to worry about that stuff."

Meanwhile, Keiji saw Isaac's bright green backpack sitting right next to him, it was bulky and just looked all around weird. "What's in the backpack, Isaac?"

"Souvenirs!" Isaac exclaimed, digging into his backpack and pulling out an odd selection of items.

The first item was clearly from their first mission together, it was a baby blue ratty teddy bear (thankfully without the bullets in them) from their very first mission. The second one was nothing more than a long old metal pipe. The third one was the least spontaneous one was a rock. It wasn't even a remotely special rock, it was about the size of Isaac's fist and had a muddy-brown color.

"You actually did the whole souvenir thing?" Keiji asked with his eyebrow raised. "Then why haven't any of us noticed you bringing in this stuff?"

"Well at least we finally have something to put in these empty shelves," Green shrugged.

"I wanted it to be a surprise," Isaac explained. "I was waiting for the right time to bring it up and it just so happens that all of us are here."

"How fortunate," Dan remarked dryly.

"There's no such thing as luck, merely coincidence," IIeana corrected him, tucking a few strands of her dark hair behind her ear.

Green squirmed at the tension in the air and Calvin cleared his throat in order to change the subject before another argument could arise. "We really should get on with watching the movies before the popcorn gets cold."

"So what movie do you guys wanna watch first?" Green asked. "Should we draw names from a hat or something?"

"I say we each pick out one or two movies that look good and we go start out from there," Keiji added in helpfully, earning sounds of agreement in return.

Hey, at least they finally agreed on something without having to argue, that was a first.

**BREAKLINE**

"I do not understand what is so interesting about watching these pictures moving and these people doing the most ludicrous of things on this 'camera' as you people have called it," Rumple said, looking down at the bowl of Cheetos Puffs as if they were alien objects.

"The story's great but the CGI needs a bit of work," Calvin commented, taking a sip of his soda as he did so.

"Characters are pretty one-sided but the actual action scenes are off the chart," Isaac said around a mouthful of corn chips.

"Don't make me laugh, anyone who has an I.Q more than twenty could tell that these 'swords' that they're using are nothing more but props. That Rapier sword is clearly a fake," Lilinette pointed out boredly, taking small nibbles of her sprinkles-covered pop tart that she had only discovered today. Hey, she had most likely tasted champagne before she had even knew cotton candy existed.

"So this 'movie' is a 'reboot'?" Rumple queried, his mind piecing the things the other teenagers have been telling him. Personally, these 'slang' terms were making his head spin. To him, most of these things were irrelevant to 'hero business' but he was a curious person at heart. "That's _interesting_."

"It's more than 'interesting', it's totally great!" Calvin insisted. "What do you think, IIeana?"

"The concept of villainous robots taking over the world and enslaving human kind is intriguing. Unlikely during the period that this movie came out but possibly in a few years, yes."

They went back to watching the movie and snacked on junk food for the rest of the night. Watching movie after movie, everything from the classics to new releases and just about anything they could get their hands on.

The first one to fall asleep was Rumple, he had chosen to take over the couch for the night and he had fallen asleep halfway through the first Jurassic Park movie.

Shortly after, IIeana along with Keiji and Green were on the floor but didn't seem to mind considering the stacks of cushions and throw-pillows planted all over the floor. Not too far from them was Dan who was lying in a starfish-like position with one arm slung over his face.

Lilinette did her absolute best to stay awake but lost to sleep when she was found curled up on an arm chair no less than ten minutes later.

And about half an hour later, even Calvin, Isaac and Little Red were all asleep. Calvin was curled up in an odd position near the coffee table. Isaac was lying down comfortably on the red rug in the middle of the room and Little Red was laying across, (yes, across) the other plush arm chair, her sneaker-boots sitting innocently on the floor next to Dan.

**BREAKLINE**

When the Zeta Beam announced Nightwing and Flash's arrival, they were greeted with a sight they weren't expecting.

The giant flatscreen in the 'living room' was still playing an old action movie and almost-empty bowls of chips and popcorn and cookies were scattered all over the floor along with finished soda cans and packets of candy. Overall, the place was a big mess, but neither of them seemed to mind.

"You think it went well?" Wally asked with a smirk.

"Oh I think it went more than well," The younger man pointed out, gesturing at the kids who were sprawled out all over the furniture and on the floor.

"Reminds me of the good ole days, don't you think, Wing?"

The speedster didn't miss the sad smile that spread across the acrobat's face "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring it up, Wing. It's just that I'm an idiot and I can't-. Ugh, how can I make it up to you?"

"How sweet," The other man snickered. "I suppose you can make it up to me later with a date at my favorite restaurant," Nightwing said in a suddenly cheeky tone, tossing Wally a flirty wink under his mask, making him laugh.

"By your favorite, I take it you mean the Big Bat's favorite restaurant A.K.A the overpriced and undersized French appetizers club," Wally rolled his eyes. "But I think I have enough cash in my wallet to bring you to a good steakhouse down town."

"I think I can live with that," Nightwing smiled, already walking towards the Zeta Tubes once more.

"Aren't you gonna do something 'bout them?" Wally inquired, pointing at the mess in the living area.

"They can handle themselves until morning. When they wake up, the Cave wouldn't be on lockdown mode any longer," Nightwing smirked. "Dude, are you just gonna stand there and stare or are you gonna live up to your promise?"

The red-head was taken aback at the reply but he found himself with the exact same smirk his best friend was wearing on his own face. "Lead the way, dude."

On their way out, the two of them didn't even notice a certain twelve year old who had left her previous 'sleeping' position on the armchair and doing her best to stifle her giggles from her place behind the couch before tiptoeing to the Zeta Beams and typing in her chosen location.

**BREAKLINE**

"You're enjoying yourself, aren't you, kid?"

"I haven't had this much action in a while so it's all good," Little Red shrugged, playing with the hem of her red cloak.

"Action huh? I take it you don't mean the romantic kind of action otherwise I'd have to tell you all about the birds and the bees," Red Hood said, earning a laugh from his partner.

"I know about sex, Hood."

"Yeah, _way_ too much for someone your age, squirt," Red Hood replied. "By the way, you got a special friend I should now about?" The anti-hero queried half-seriously.

"Puh-lease, you of all people should know that-"

"-Relationships just aren't your style," Red Hood finished for her dryly. "Now what were you gonna tell me again?"

"It's a confidential topic, Red," She explained. "We kinda have to talk about this inside."

He raised an eyebrow but complied, leading her inside into his home base. No, correction; their home base.

"The place hasn't changed at all," Sel remarked, peeling her mask off and setting it to the side. "And it's been three months since I've last been here but everything's still the same."

The brunette plopped herself down on the red couch and sat down in an Indian sit, her gaze burning into the couch cushion.

"Need anything, kid?" Jason asked his protégé, receiving a shake of the head. He then pulled out a glass and filled it up with soda, taking a sip of the bubbly liquid. "You sure?"

"No thanks, there's something that's been bothering me lately."

"Not a lot of things do that to you," Jason hummed, plopping himself down on the red armchair in his 'living room'. "So this must be really important."

"It is," Sel answered seriously. "It just happened the other night and you're obviously a better detective than I am, so help me out here."

"Elaborate."

"There's this...person I saw on the roof the other day. Wing's team was fighting with a bunch of people and he was there like some sort of creepy midget stalker."

"Well that person sounds familiar, now don't they?"

"I'm being serious here, dude," Sel said, nibbling on her bottom lip gently. "This person, no wait- this _kid_ is hunting down Wing and might actually kill him if we're not careful."

"And why is this any of my concern?"

Sel crossed her arms and her gaze narrowed slightly. "Don't give me that BS. You care about him...a lot, like a brother, because you _are_ his brother."

"There are a lot of things you don't know about the Bats, Sel," Jason replied, tipping his glass to his mouth and sipping down his drink.

"That might be true but I sure as Hell know it when someone cares and puts their trust in them. You wouldn't have left me with anyone other than Dickie-bird and you know it," Sel said knowingly. "Like it or not, there's a killing assassin out there and I can't do much about it but help _you_ help Nightwing. Plus, you know for a fact that I'm not exactly the best tactician."

"Then why not tell Golden Boy Grayson about this?" Jason inquired, burying his face into the rim of his glass.

"This kid had a personal grudge against the Blue Bird, he didn't elaborate on it much but he's made it clear that he's on his side and nobody else's. But it all seems fishy to me, like why would you wait for so long if he's just under your nose? It doesn't add up, Jason."

"Anything else I need to know?"

"This kid himself is around three and a half feet tall, skinny but obviously well trained, wears a lot of black with a touch of silver, a full face mask, knives and of course, a sword. Obviously whoever got this kid is an assassin themselves."

"I think I have someone in mind who fits your description," he informed her, getting a curious look in return.

"Have anyone particular in your mind or are you just acting all mysterious for the fun of it?"

Jason scoffed. "If it were this serious I wouldn't be joking about it. And yes, there's only one son of a bitch who would've been good enough of a killing machine himself to be able to pull this off."

**BREAKLINE**

"Master, if I may ask...Where are those teenagers hiding as of now? Did they really end up in an alternate dimension?"

"Those insipid brats are the least of their problems now, child," the man replied simply, not really answering the child's questions.

"And how is that, Master?"

"At this point, teenagers in costumes are merely ants compared to the demons they'll have to face later on."

He dropped a large file onto the table and the boy's eyes widened when he caught a glimpse of the photos in front of him. "No way...It can't be, this is impossible."

"The rumors are true, child. These aren't your everyday villains anymore, they're demons, creatures from other worlds with powers beyond a regular man's imagination."

The child stayed silent, not having anything to say at the moment.

"Child, I don't think you understand that _you _are the wildcard in this whole game between the heroes, the demons and everyone and anything in between. You're a special case, different from everyone else all because you were made with one thing planted in your mind: and that thing is to assassinate Richard Grayson and bring down Nightwing. You aren't normal, you never will be normal and you know that, so that is why you're so valuable."

The man stepped out of the shadows and stood out in the light, his dark armored uniform and orange and black mask. "Don't call me your master anymore, child. You have proved yourself worthy to stand as my equal for one main reason. Child, you were _made_ to be an assassin."

The boy's eyes shimmered with a mixture of what looked like childish glee and dark, sickening intentions.

"Now do you understand?"

"Of course I understand..._Deathstroke_."


	18. Chapter 18

"Pocket dimensions? Now that sounds fucking ridiculous," Wren sneered with a roll of his eyes.

"Shut up, Wren," Alissa and Shyler said in unison with identical sharp looks painted on their faces.

"As I was saying," Amethyst started, crossing one leg over the other. "For now we stay here, it was the safest place I can think of so enjoy your stay."

"Who died and made you leader?" Shyler sneered, an almost _disgusted_ scowl on his face as he did so.

Amethyst cocked her head to the side in faux obliviousness and to Wren, she looked eerily similar to a confused kitten...with hidden malice intentions, but a kitten nonetheless. "Didn't Alissa tell you? She stepped down from her position as leader and handed it to me just a few hours ago."

"Alissa? Is this true?" Nikole looked over to the eighteen year old who was as silent as an empty library in a fully deserted town.

"Amethyst is the obvious best candidate for this mission, I hate to admit it but this is our only chance," The older blonde girl muttered. "I have come to realize that _this_ whole thing is completely out of my area of skill and knowledge."

Amethyst let a smirk appear on her face for a split second before shifting it to it's usual happy grin. "Now that that's out of the way, I have the perfect plan in mind! It involves even more dimension travel, magic and my favorite, dream manipulation!"

"Dream manipulation? How does that work?" Wren queried in bewilderment. "And didn't we just watch the fight they had with Gorilla Grodd? As much as I like you, Amy, you're not really original if you're gonna copy paste someone else's tactics like that."

"Well Wren obviously isn't going to be of any help," Nikole commented, earning an offended squawk coming from the red-head.

"Hey, I take offense to that!" Wren yelped in defense. "Give me any shotgun, handgun, riffle, whatever and I swear I shoot real good!"

"Congratulations you have the ability to do what literal thousands of civilians around the world that took up a shooting class can do," Shyler remarked. "We're real proud of you, Wren, really, we are."

Nikole turned to Amethyst and sighed. "You zapped me up here unannounced while I was on a mission, the least I could get is an explanation," Nikole said in a bored tone, pushing her glasses up her nose. "And what good is manipulating her dreams when you don't know a single thing about this girl?"

"We all have our own personal interests, Nikole. You of all people should be aware of that considering that you may or may not have a slight obsession with 'beating' this IIeana girl, now don't you?" The sorceress said in a mock sing-song tone that made Shyler want to introduce her pretty-little face to his favorite knife.

"Bitch," He mumbled under his breath.

"I second that," Nikole piped up, glaring daggers at the brunette.

Amethyst jumped out of her seat as if she had been told the best news in the world, blue eyes twinkling with enthusiasm. "Excellent! This is gonna be so much fun! I even have a few friends that love to play games like these, they're the absolute sweetest!" She cooed, the grin on her face as wide as ever.

"Friends? More like people you annoy the living shit out of every time you're at a ten mile radius from them," Shyler quipped up, Alissa smacking his arm roughly with the back of her hand.

"She knows what she's doing, let her talk," The older girl ordered sharply. "Now Amethyst, would you care to enlighten us about your '_friends_'."

Amethyst twirled a piece of her hair with her pinky finger and beamed in a way that was far too enthusiastic to be considered normal considering the circumstances they were in. "No need for that, I'm very sure you'll meet them soon, _very soon_."

**BREAKLINE**

_ "Evelyn! Evelyn! Come on, let's take a swim!" Remmy calls for his sister who was trailing not too far behind him, hands stuffed in the pockets of her jeans._

_ "The water is green, Remmy, green. It looks almost radioactive," She replies with a small frown before turning away in the opposite direction to the opposite side of the lake._

_ The older boy grins mischievously as an idea pops into his head and he slowly makes his way behind his sister, being as quiet as humanly possible while still trying to conceal his chuckles._

_ Remmy came up closer to the blonde and splashed some of the water right at her, hitting straight at her eyes, the pain stinging into them, the burning sensation sinking in slowly but more enough to make her cry out in pain._

_ "Remmy!" She yelled, stumbling backwards and falling into the murky water with a splash, this time, even more painful than ever._

_**"Oooh! That was pretty fun to watch! I wanna see what happens next!"** A light girlish voice giggled in her head. Green, even in her subconscious state, didn't miss the hidden sadistic smirk in the owner's voice._

_ "We can help you, Evelyn," A shadowy figure offers their glove-covered hand to her, a team of scientists behind them. "Just come with us."_

_ "Nothing's working," a woman in her late forties scowls as she scribbles furiously into her notepad. "This is unlike anything I've ever seen before."_

_ "I'm at a dead-end as well," a balding man with circular glasses perched on his nose agrees, shaggy eyebrows knitting together in thought._

_ "The girl's impossible."_

_ "A bloody mutant if you ask me."_

_ "Is there anything we can do?"_

_ "Just give her a pair of goggles and she'll be able to hold them in, the experiment we did last week proved so."_

_** "This is getting good, even better than most movies!" **The same voice cackles but the once ridiculously sugary tone replaced with a sinister, mocking tone that sends a shiver up Green's spine. "**Some people call me Amy. Most call me Amethyst, Amethyst Hexx if you were wondering. Though there is the occasional 'psychopathic bitch' or 'seductive sadist who'll use you as a plaything' or even the ever so creative 'blood lusting, selfish living embodiment of evil'!"**_

_ She was running, faster than she ever had before, letting her bare feet take her to wherever they can, the muddy ground dirtying the already-calloused bottoms of her feet but she didn't care. She just had to escape, she didn't want to be a lab-rat anymore._

_ With the two short swords in her hands, she picked up her pace when she saw a bright light from the corner of her eye, ducking behind objects in her way to avoid being seen._

_** "And that, ladies and gentlemen, was all the time we have for viewing the dreams locked not-so-safely in the subconscious state of a certain little greenie, pretty fun don't you think? We'll be back next week with our next victim so hold on to your seats, alright?"**_ _Amethyst giggles while a big cloud of pink and purple sparkling glitter dances around the fifteen year old's vision for a few moments before all turns into a pitch black._

Instead of opening her eyes to reveal a dark abyss accompanied by only the dim light on her bedside table, she found herself staring into a pair of mask-covered eyes that even behind those white lenses she could tell were glimmering with concern."You okay?"

Green was drenched in cold sweat, her body shaking lightly and her fingers gripping on the bedsheets tightly, after finding her voice she replied in a surprisingly even tone. "What're you doing here, Little Red? It's pretty late right now and you should be asleep." The blonde sat up slowly and rubbed her eyes. Realization hitting her like a ton of bricks and she flushed slightly, a dark pink blush forming across her cheeks. "Unless I woke you up of course, I'm really sorry if I did."

"I heard you scream across the hall and I thought someone attacked you," Little Red explained. "And you didn't wake me up, I don't even live here. I was just looking if you guys restocked your sweets cabinets and I heard a scream coming from your room."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you or waste your time. It's just that..." Green trailed off, not meeting Little Red's gaze in favor of staring at her lap, strands of blonde hair falling to her face. "I saw something...things from my past-" Green stopped when she realized what she was saying. '_Don't be so selfish_,' she said to herself mentally. '_She's trying to help you and all you're doing is talking about yourself.'_

"Is there anything I can do to help? I can make you hot cocoa with those giant marshmallows, if you like. That recipe's my specialty, you know. But if you don't swing that way, I could go and get you something else if you like."

"Thank you, but you really don't have to," Green said, her voice as quiet as a whisper. "I'm really-"

Green couldn't finish the rest of her sentence due to the younger girl suddenly pulling her into a hug, her arms wrapped around the blonde girl's waist, making her stiffen slightly but subconsciously sinking into the warm embrace.

"Don't be scared, everyone gets nightmares. Even Nightwing himself does," The twelve year old muttered softly. "You care about other people far more than you care about yourself. That's admirable with you being a hero and all but it's unhealthy, there's nothing wrong with expressing your feelings, dude."

Green let out a deep breath she didn't even know she had been holding. "Thank you," she said. "But you don't have to do this, you really don't."

"I don't have to, but I _want_ to," Little Red corrected. "People like you shouldn't be so down in the dumps, dude. You're a great person, a real sweetheart actually, so don't be sad, okay?"

Green felt her throat go so dry the Sahara desert would be envious, she was at a loss of words and all she could do was nod against Little Red's hug in reply.

"Where's Nightwing and Flash?" Keiji questioned, looking around the room and not spotting the black and blue of Nightwing's uniform or the familiar flash of red and gold that belonged to their resident speedster's.

"Probably on a date somewhere romantic, I heard the Happy Harbor pier has this kickass seafood restaurant that they'd like," Little Red replied with a small laugh, eyes twinkling with little stars of fangirl-like excitement.

"You serious?" Dan inquired with a cocked eyebrow.

Little Red sent him an award-winning smile before jumping up into the air, placing her hands on Dan's shoulders as a makeshift human springboard and setting herself on his shoulders like Batman on Gotham City's many stone gargoyles.

"What are you doing?" Dan yelled at the younger girl who was giggling like a madman.

Little Red pretended not to hear him as she flipped off of his shoulders and landed on the ground with a small bow. "And _that_ right there is my glorious impression of Nightwing, pretty good don't you think?"

"You could've done so with a warning, you know!" Dan sighed.

Little Red didn't reply but instead flipped her hood over over her head and skipped, yes skipped away to the Zeta Tubes.

"Just where are you going now?" Dan called out to the brown haired girl.

"Mentor business, says he wants me to get back to the city as soon as possible. So I'll see you guys later!" She says with a smile before typing in her chosen location and teleporting away.

As soon as the Zeta Tube announced her departure, Keiji turned to Rumple with a serious expression written all over his face. Without Little Red's prescience, the tension in the room was so thick one would need a freaking steak knife to cut through it. "What was that you said about alternate dimensions? You haven't really talked a lot since that day so there is something obviously bothering you."

"I agree with Keiji," Calvin said. "We're worried about you, Rumple. You've been spacing out and you've been saying things under your breath lately, is there anything that we can do to help."

The dark haired teen took a deep breath, his face unreadable and scarily stoic. "There is a lot even I don't know about the universe," Rumple started. "But I suppose it is more than necessary that I inform you all about what really is out there."

"There are seven different realms of Death," Rumple said grimly, his gaze locked on the floor and not at all on his teammates. "Each realm having its own respective leader and very different from each other."

"And this is relevant to us, _how_?" Dan cocked an eyebrow. "No offense, Rum, but this all sounds like mythological bullshit."

Rumple ignored the other boy's comment and carried one with his explanation. "A breed of powerful demonic creatures live in each one. One of the realms is this very Earth, the land of youth. Another is Mrtyu, the land of trickery."

Before anyone could express their opinions, Calvin gestured for Rumple to continue and he did; "There is also Zecoria, otherwise known as the land of the undead. Jovare, the land of the blessed. Cescane, the land of the unworthy. Feriren, the land of the unwanted."

"Only six? I thought you said that there were seven," Keiji pointed out tersely.

A flash of emotion flickered in Rumple's eyes but it was far too quick for anyone to guess what exact emotion it was, taking a deep breath he replied, his voice was noticeably softer. "The final realm of death is often called 'The Edge' by the very few that populate it. It is ruled by a demon, a demon with magic, I may add. It is the land of deception, and I myself have only heard tales of this treacherous world...if it can even be classified as a world for only the slaves of the one that rules live there."

"Okay this all sounds like something someone would print at the back of a kid's cereal box," Isaac said in an attempt to lighten up the mood but failed miserably.

"Still sounds like bullshit to me," Dan quipped up.

"And this isn't in any historical documents over the past centuries?" IIeana interrogated and no one was surprised. Apart from being intelligent and skilled with machinery, IIeana soaked up new knowledge like a sponge.

"I agree, all of this sounds similar to the garbage constructed to make children fear the non-existent monsters living under their beds," Lilinette added in.

"Guys," Calvin said in a warning voice but other than Keiji and Green, no one was really paying attention to him.

"I believe in you, Rumple," Green offered him a small smile whilst Keiji gave him a curt nod of the head.

"I don't want to believe that there are different gods that not only haven't been mentioned in any history books or even on the Internet," IIeana shook her head, her face lined into a thin frown.

"You superstitious, gullible morons actually believe in this trash?" Lilinette questioned incredulously, standing on the same ground as IIeana.

Isaac rubbed the back of his head indecisively, the pieces not really forming together in his mind. "I'm torn between believing you or not, dude. Sorry but I grew up around science, _this_ is all just so out of my zone if you know what I mean."

"This could mean either of two things. One is that we need to be alert at all times and we should stay on the defensive side, we're out of our limits here, guys," Calvin started.

"On the other hand, we're not so sure if this whole things is real or if it's just a myth," Keiji finished for him.

"That is what I wonder myself," Rumple admitted. "But be warned, mortals, if you ever encounter these creatures you cannot run or even hide, for they possess not only strong magic, but dark magic. Much like the powers that can be seen in a certain inhumane, atrocious creature named Amethyst Hexx."

"So these guys have the power of gods?" Green asked, emerald-colored orbs shimmering with concern and bewilderment.

"Oh no, these creatures have powers far beyond those of gods, power that you mortals cannot even conceit," Rumple narrowed his eyes, clenching his fists hard.

For once in their lives as a team, the whole room was left in a tense, stoic silence that not even Lilinette of Dan dared to speak up, the information sinking in like venom to skin.

And as for Rumple, though he wasn't showing it, he was the most worried of them all.

**All of the contents in the 7 Realms concept belongs to AsgardianGrizzly with just a hint of canon included in there just to stay true to the source material (even though it's only just a little bit but whatever.)**

** Don't worry about remembering all the names of the realms though because only two- maybe three will make an appearance in this story and the rest are there for world building and good measure :)**

** Thank you guys for all your never-ending support, leave ****a review on your way out if you like!**

** See you next chapter :D**

** -BirdsSpeedandArrows xx**


	19. Chapter 19

"This isn't about erasing humanity as we know it, Amethyst! It's about destroying the Justice League, nothing more, nothing less."

The sorceress blinked at her, once-blue eyes which were now the color of her namesake twinkling at the other girl sinlessly. Amethyst crossed her arms over her chest, placing her finger in her chin in thought. "Well, what can we do about it, Al? I mean, it would be such a big waste of my powers if all we use them for is just for trivial things like a bunch of boring overpowered adults in colorful spandex," Amethyst shrugged.

"I don't give a shit about your powers, Amethyst, we're not doing this. Not now, not ever," Alissa managed to grit out through her teeth, clenching her fists hard.

"You didn't have to be so mean about it," The brown haired girl ducked her head sadly, giving the other teen the illusion of rejection. "I'm sorry, please forgive me."

Alissa's gaze softened, reaching out her hand. "Don't do that. You look pathetic, alright? Listen, if I hurt your feelings then I just-"

Catching Alissa off guard, Amethyst used her magic to throw Alissa against the wall, constructing tight metal restraints not only to hold the girl's arms and legs to said wall but to keep her from using her powers to break free.

"I'm sorry about this, Alissa, I really am," Amethyst said in a glum and pitiful voice but the glimmering sadistic edge to her voice told Alissa otherwise.

"What the Hell do you think you're doing, Anethyst?" Alissa demanded, her whole body feeling like jelly, she tried to move her hand to try to wiggle out of the invisible restraints that had her stuck to the wall.

"Don't you remember, Alissa? You handed over the title of 'leader' to me ever since we got into this mini pocket dimension. So I get to do whatever I want, when I want to," Amethyst complained smugly, tilting her head to the side to admire her work.

Alissa raised her head up to look at the other girl in the eye, glaring at her hatefully. "When we were facing off with the baby heroes, you told me that we had a Code 15 but we didn't. You _lied_ to me, Amy. Why?" Alissa gasped out, her whole body screaming in pain, it didn't help that her costume was not only forty percent made of solid metal, but it was skin-tight, Amethyst's Magic binding her entire torso wasn't helping.

"We made a deal. You gave me your word."

Amethyst let out a string of laughter, as if Alissa had just cracked up the most clever joke in history. "I _gave_ you those powers for you to put into good use but unfortunately for you, your whole charade was getting awfully boring so I have to get rid off you. I mean, no one wants a useless burden around, right?"

"I can't believe you, you pile of backstabbing scum!" Alissa growled out, her eyes flickering with rage.

"I can't believe it too, Alissa. That you managed to get this far into this whole ordeal, but I'm afraid this is as far as you will ever get. But before you go bye-bye, it would be rude of me not to give you the same treatment I give to most of my playmates. And you better be thankful for it, Al because I'm not going to do the same with the rest of your 'friends', the brown haired girl giggled before placing a small kiss on Alissa's forehead. "Hope you enjoy the show, Ally!"

"No!" Alissa tried to yell but it was far too late, the cinematic record of her life started to play right in front of her. A roller coaster through her life, every single dreaded memory of her life going over and over again like a broken record.

_ "They let your parents die, Alissa," The girl whispered in her ear. "Don't you want revenge on this so-called 'Justice League' for not saving your family?"_

_ "Of course I do!" The teenager snapped. "Of all the people that had to die, it just had to be them! The Justice League has to suffer! And I'll do it myself if I have to!"_

_ "That sounds lovely, Alissa. You really are a smart girl," Amethyst giggled. "Now in that case, I'll make you a deal."_

_ "What kind of deal?"_

_ "Let's say I give you these powers, special abilities that you can use for your own bidding. Impress me, that's the only thing I want in return."_

_ "Deal," the blonde said without a second of hesitation, making Amethyst giggle in amusement._

_ "Are you sure about that? Don't you need some time to think about it?_

_ "Don't tell me what to do, Princess," Alissa crossed her arms. "And shouldn't be the other way around? How am I supposed to trust you? In total honesty, you look like you belong in a bubblegum-themed beauty pageant, not in a shady black market," Alissa pointed out, gesturing at Amethyst's pink-colored glittery dress._

_ The sorceress grinned widely at the teenager and played with a few strands of her hair. "I'll show you a princess," she said before snapping her fingers together and letting her magic take the lead._

_**SNAP!**_

"It's such a shame really, that I had to kill you. But then again, you were starting to doubt me and my intentions. And I for one, couldn't let that happen," The purple-eyed girl shook her head, waving a finger to increase the already agonizing pain that the blonde was in. Invisible sharp knives piercing through her body like needles to a pin cushion, leaving Alissa screaming in pain.

"Traitor," Alissa sputtered, she was very much sure that her lung collapsed and most of her ribs were crushed, not broken but crushed. Despite this, she refused to give in, that was just what Amethyst wanted, to see her in great pain.

Point of the matter is; crushed ribs or not, she wasn't going to give Amethyst that pleasure. Even if she was going to die, right here and now.

"Shyler, Wren and Nikole will find out that you did this, you'll pay for what you've done, Amethyst," Alissa spat, heavy venom leaking in her voice.

The brunette raised a perfectly-shaped eyebrow at that. "So? It's not like they even liked you as a leader, Alissa. Each of them have their own wants and needs that aren't anywhere close to your own. Newsflash: they never cared about you and they never will. No one will ever care about you, Alissa. You're just another freak of an orphan with a broken family and a tragic past. You're not special, your dreams of prevailing over the Justice League were nothing more than childish dreams that were never meant to come true."

Amethyst ran her finger down Alissa's now-bruised cheek lightly, trailing a manicured nail over the bruised area almost _tenderly_. "It was really entertaining, you know? Watching you and your little posse play like the big-guns, talking about battle strategies, dressing up in black and calling yourself 'The Rebellion' like it actually mattered. Hell, I was having so much fun myself for a second there, I thought about _not_ killing you guys. Letting you receive a prize for a game you weren't even a part of. Cute, that's all you guys are to me, cute little kittens playing the big bad villains."

"Go to Hell," Alissa managed to sputter out between broken breaths.

"I've already been there countless times and let me tell you, the devil himself is quite a charming fellow," Amethyst replied with a shameless wink before turning away on her heel and sauntering out of the room, disappearing out of Alissa's blurry vision in a spark of bright pink and purple.

**BREAKLINE**

"Amy, baby! I knew you were kinky but this is getting out of hand!" Wren exclaimed with a nervous chuckle despite the fact that his wrists were starting to chafe from the unseen chains that were holding him to the wall.

"Stop joking around, Wren, this she-demon has clearly lost it and is taking it out on us...just like what she did with Alissa," Nikole narrowed her eyes accusingly at Amethyst.

"Alissa? What about her? I didn't see her even once this morning! Where is she?" Wren rambled off like one of those 60-second interviewers on a low budget talk show.

Amethyst smiled at Wren in a way that would've had him melt into a puddle if it weren't for his current state, pinned up to the wall and all. "You'll join her soon, birdie. I'll make sure of it."

"Go back to the cursed underworld where you belong," Shyler snapped, hate loud and clear in his voice.

"You're all so pathetic and that's what makes this all so sad," Amethyst shook her head disappointedly. "I won't even waste my time giving my opinion on you three so I'll make this quick; you three weren't remotely even worth my 'help'. You're useless ants in this vast universe and little ants like yourselves, aren't even worthy of breathing the same air as someone like _me_."

"You call us pathetic and yet you use petty little remarks and insults like they actually affect us, just how old-school are you?" Shyler snickered dryly. "Narcissistic ego-maniac."

"Cute. Even when at my mercy, you still have that silver tongue of yours. You should never be too careless, Shyler, it could cost you a lot," Amethyst said condescendingly. "I'm sure your mother will miss you a lot, she loved you dearly, correct? The only person who loves you for who you are, how _sweet_."

"Don't you dare touch her!" Shyler tugged roughly at the restraints but it was useless, he wasn't nearly as fast enough to vibrate out of them and set Nikole and Wren, let alone himself, free.

"Oh I'm not going to lay a single finger on her, my little Shyler. I'll even let you see her...or it should be the other way around? I mean, your mom's never been to a funeral, right? If so, then yours would be the very first, better make it special, Shyler," Amethyst tittered girlishly, choosing not to hear the curses and swear words that Shyler began spitting at her in blind rage.

"Nikole, what about you? Anyone special attending your funeral? No? Family, friends? No one?" Amethyst rattled off, a smile of fake innocence drawn on her face. "Oops. You've never had anyone love you, am I right or am I right?"

Her words clearly struck a nerve as soon as Shyler and Wren caught a glimpse of Nikole's face. It was full of heart and her usually spark-filled eyes were clouded with a mix of emotions...none of those emotions being particularly good ones.

Memories of her family, the very people who called her names, beat her until she was bloody and broken.

_ "Useless brat." **Kick.**_

_ "Can't even breathe properly because of 'asthma attacks'. Stop complaining you, useless little bitch." **Slap**._

_ "You were nothing more but an accident child." **Punch**._

_ "Freak in nature." **Kick.**_

_ "What're you gonna do, Nikki? Cry and play with your stupid little toys again?" Her so called 'father' sneered, his breath stinking off cheap alcohol. Her drunken mother slurring out nonsense with half a cigarette in her mouth._

_ "Why don't you just die already?" **Another kick to the stomach.**_

Amethyst waited patiently for Nikole to snap out of the trance she was in and when she did, the brunette leaned in to brush her hand against Nikole's face. "You had such a pretty face, after all. Why you didn't use it to get anything you wanted, I don't know. A gigantic waste if you ask me."

A sputter of blood escaped from Nikole's mouth and Amethyst jumped away "There's more to life than flirting and playing games, heartless hell-spawn."

The sorceress pretended not to hear her last comment and bent down to look at Shyler straight in the eye, making him stiffen. "As for you, Shyler, you were suspicious of me since the very beginning. Too bad you didn't actually do anything to stop me. If you had, then you and your pathetic little group of abandoned children would've had even the slightest bit of chances to beat me."

The dark-haired speedster screamed when he felt hundreds of volts of electricity piercing through his body like a moth attracted to an electrified lamp. Amethyst's little girlish giggles a going off the walls, only rivaled by Shyler's yells of pure agonizing grief.

"You're done for now, sweetie," Amethyst giggled once more, turning her attention to Wren who gulped nervously. Without missing a beat, she swiftly slapped the boy across the face, on the outside, Amethyst looked quite the petite girl but damn, she could really punch when added with even the slightest of her magic.

"That was for constantly hitting on me and not getting a hint that I wasn't interested," The girl huffed, incantating a spell that sent a strong burning sensation that spread like a wildfire on Wren's insides, suffocating him as if he were stuck in a room full of raging flames. Sending him in a fit of violent coughs, trying desperately to catch his breath for air.

"Nikole, sweet intelligent little Nikole," Amethyst grinned at the fifteen year old. "You were so entertaining and definitely one of my favorites to watch, the fiery determination in your eyes whenever you were called to do a mission. My first impression of you was weak, nothing more than a little girl in a cardigan and a remote control. _You proved me wrong. _And I don't like being wrong, especially by useless human scum like you."

Then a striking pain hit Nikole, the worst she's ever experienced in her whole life, letting out a brutal set of screams, her body was shaking dangerously, like she was going to break any moment now.

The thirteen year old turned away from the sight and waited until her screams halted to finally speak to Nikole, chewing on his bottom lip to keep himself from protesting out loud in pain. "Nikole...I'm sorry," Shyler said, his voice barely above a whisper. "I'm sorry I couldn't..."

"Awwww, how cute," Amethyst cooed mockingly, clapping her hands together to tighten the pressure on Wren's chest as he began to wheeze out for air. "Maybe I won't hurt you all too much so you can exchange a few last words. You know how much I love these kinds of things so take it away, guys!"

She then made a show of checking her non-existent watch and pouted. "I'm gonna be late for my tea party, so I'll leave you all to it. See you later- or not."

With that, Amethyst skipped out of the room, her heeled pink shoes clanking on the floor. Making sure to lock the heavy metal door behind her with one last giggle.

"We had s-some p-pretty good times, d-didn't we, guys?" Wren breathed out, a tiny smile on his face despite the screeching pain he was feeling.

But the pain didn't matter as much to him anymore when he saw the two other teenagers let small barely-there appear on their own faces.

"Fuck," Shyler sighed, watching the puddle of blood under Nikole expand even more when she started coughing up blood, the red substance spilling out of her mouth "Thirteen years old and dying already? That's just sad."

"See you guys in the afterlife, I guess?" Wren offered, cringing mentally when his vision started to blur.

"Way ahead of you there, Wren," Shyler answered in a quiet voice, letting his eyelids droop and finally closing his eyes, with Wren doing the same.

"Famous last words, huh?" Nikole said sadly, giving into the temptation of shutting her eyes and ending it all right then and there.

_ 'A thousand times we die in one life. We crumble, break and tear apart until the layers of illusion are burned away and all that is left, is the truth of who and what we really are._**'**

_ -Teal Scott_

** Yeah...that just happened. No dreams, no illusions, nothing of that sort.**

** I really have nothing to say other than thank you so much for following and favoriting this story. Leave a review on your way out if you like :D**

** See you all next chapter!**

** -BirdsSpeedandArrows xx**


	20. Chapter 20

Wally's gaze shifted from at the attendees of the black-clad ceremony to the dark haired woman who was practically silent throughout the whole ceremony. Sighing deeply, he walked over to her and forced a smile onto his face. "Hey."

"He's dead, Wally," Dakota murmured, her dull sorrow-filled eyes locked on the ground as if it were the most interesting thing in the universe. My son, my baby...he's dead. Gone without a trace other than his own body."

"Dakota," Wally started, but found that no words were coming out of his mouth. What was he supposed to say to someone who lost her thirteen year old son? Finding his courage, he swallowed and said the first three words that came to mind, "I'm so sorry."

"Don't apologize for something you weren't involved in," Dakota replied and if Wally didn't know better, he would've sworn that her eyes were starting to well up with tears. "Shyler grew up without his father," The dark haired woman stated, her words stiff and emotionless. "The self-loving douchebag left us when Shyler was only two years old, never once seen him ever since."

His fake smile vanished into a frown as soon as he heard what she said; "If there's anything I can do to help just tell me," Wally told her, sympathy rolling of his words glumly, he didn't know the kid very well some he had only seen him two times in his entire ice but he knew Dakota good enough to see that she loved her son so much to the point where she would _die_ for him.

"Thanks, but I think I can handle this on my own, West."

"Just what are you gonna do, Dakota?" Wally inquired. "Really, if there's anything I can do to help, just give me a call:"

The faintest hint of a smile found it's way to her face for a few seconds before it vanished as quick as it came. "Don't you dare mistake me for some wimpy damsel in distress, asshole."

"I wouldn't do that if my life depended on it," Wally answered, appearing to be humorous but the heaviness of the entire situation outweighed the little joke like a blue whale to an ant.

"I'll be seeing you, Wally," Dakota said, stuffing her hands in the pockets of her coat and turning on her heel.

"Dakota," Wally called after her, making her turn back to him slowly. "Will I ever see you again?"

A pained expression spread across her face and she sighed. "I don't know, Wally, I really don't, but be sure to take care of the guys back at the lab for me alright?"

"Of course I will," he promised as she nodded and walked away, the speedster only doing the same in the other direction when she disappeared from his sight.

**BREAKLINE**

A small figure crept behind the brick wall not far from where a certain red-head was once standing. Pressing the button on his communicator, he waited for the familiar voice to come in.

"Deathstroke," he started, the mercenary's alias sounding almost-alien on his tongue. Though he had been training under the man for quite some time, calling him anything other than 'master' was something that was foreign to him.

"Are the rumors true, boy?" Deathstroke questioned, his voice shaky from the communicator he was using.

"Yes," the boy replied stiffly, creeping into the shadows to shield himself from possible prying eyes. "The boy is really dead. Same with the other four teenagers. Strangely enough, out of all of them, he was

"What about the girl with magic? Any evidence of her whereabouts?"

"Nowhere to be seen, it's like she disappeared off of the face of the Earth. I've checked cameras, airports and hacked into every source that I could. It's more than likely that she hid herself easily with her magic."

The mercenary on the other end murmured

something he couldn't understand over the communicator and sighed loudly. "Very well, you may resume with your search."

"Understood," The boy replied tersely, running his hand through his black hair (with now had a streak of bright red in it, mind you).

"And child?"

"Yes?"

"We might be on equal grounds at the moment but do not on any circumstance whatsoever, disappoint me. Am I clear?"

The child rolled his eyes at the question, he had heard about a million variations of said question over the communicator it was driving him insane. "Yes."

"Good," Deathstroke replied before disconnecting, making the boy sigh exasperatedly. Did the old man always have to be a major pain in the ass? The answer is yes.

Then out of nowhere, he felt a small furry figure smother itself on his arm, eyes snapping down he found himself facing a cat. A small, black, green-eyed cat was freaking cuddling him, waiting to be petted.

"What the Hell?," he frowned.

"Shoo," He waved off the cat with his gloved hand but the animal clearly didn't care about his comfort and only purred, pressing itself closer to the boy who out of instinct, petted it with his other hand. "Stupid little manipulator."

A pair of large green cat eyes blinked up at him and he sighed tiredly, picking up the cat with both hands so that they were facing each other "I suppose the old man wouldn't mind if I kept you around," He mused mindlessly. "You're small enough not to cause too much mischief and your fur is black...to match the color of my soul, so I suppose I could keep you."

As if the feline had understood what he just said, it's eyes visibly brightened up. "Meow."

**BREAKLINE**

"I hope I'm not too late for dinner," Amethyst said, a nearby servant opened the door for her as she entered the room. Said servant bowing politely before she made her exit.

"No need to worry, you're just on time, m'lady."

The room was decorated to the brim, the lighting was a moody purple color. A long table was set right smack in the middle of the room adorned with a snowy-white table cloth made entirely out of silk. The table itself was adorned with jewel-encrusted plates, silverware and a tall arrangement of exotic flowers right smack in the middle of it all. For the final touch, fuchsia pink and lilac candles were floating, yes _floating_ above the table to set the scene.

"Amethyst, darling, how great is it that you've decided to grace me with your presence. Take a seat, my dear," the man greeted, taking her hand in his and brushing his lips against her knuckles.

Amethyst giggled at the action and walked over to the other side of the table to plant herself down on the plush red-velvet chair, crossing one leg over the other and grinning politely. "I've had some free time so I might as well make an appearance, it's been a while since we've last met, have we not?"

He didn't even make an effort to stifle his laughter at that. "Witty as always, my darling."

Pinching the neck of her glass of rare expensive wine and tilting it to her lips, she smirked. "Always nice to see you, you always prepare the most exquisite decorations and meals just for me, it's so flattering."

"Was that sarcasm, Amethyst?" The ash-haired man chuckled, maroon-colored eyes glimmering with amusement, as if he knew something that no one else knew.

"Just me being my usual witty self, don't take it personally."

"That'd be the last thing on my mind, my sweets."

Her eyes trailed over the empty seat beside her and raised an eyebrow at the man. "Where is your other guest? Is he not going to arrive or is the inter-realm traffic keeping him late?" Amethyst quirked, twirling a piece of her hair as she did so.

The man sighed sadly, but even an idiot could tell that it was one-hundred percent fake. "I'm afraid he won't be joining us tonight, Princess. He's far too copped up with his magic tricks and his little Pandora to pay me any attention, I'm afraid."

"Princess?" Amethyst repeated, amusement glazed all over her tone. "It's been a while since I've last been called that."

"You have shape shifted into many beautiful girls in the past, some of them so gorgeous they were practically unreal. Have I ever told you how beautiful your new look is?" He asked playfully.

"You always say that every single time I don a new appearance," Amethyst chuckled, taking another sip of the wine offered to her.

"What can I say? You have a refined exquisite taste in beauty, do you not?"

"I can say the same thing about you, this wine is magnificent," she complimented, raising her glass to prove her point.

"Aren't you underage, sweetheart?" The dark haired man questioned amusedly.

"You didn't seem to be complaining earlier."

He shrugged his shoulders in reply. "Maybe I was only trying to get on your good side, my peach."

"You rule an entire realm of death, what would someone like you want with little old me?"

"You're one of the, if not the most powerful magic-users I have ever encountered, Princess. Your skills are rumored to be exemplary and simply out of this world."

"Oh you make me blush."

"All in the day's work of a gentleman."

"Speaking of which, you're being awfully calm today," Amethyst commented, violet eyes peering at the man questioningly. "You've been restraining yourself haven't you?" She teased. "How about we discuss more intriguing matters rather than this small-talk that's obviously going nowhere, huh?"

A toothy grin appeared on his face almost instantly at the sound of that. "Would you rather we converse about how much I would love the scent of burning flesh? Or how the sound of bones grinding together before they _snap_ is music to my ears?"

A breathy giggle escaped from Amethyst's lips at his choice of words. "I'm afraid that it would have to wait for another time. Business first before pleasure."

A flash of glee flickered in his eyes for a split second before he broke out into a grin once more. "Anything for you, my caramel

apple. Just a quick question though, whatever happened to the little girl you gave powers to, how is she now?" The suited man inquired curiously.

"Buried six feet under the ground near a ditch, not a single person went to her non-existent funeral. Poor girl didn't even catch the attention of those police officers because of one thing: _She. Doesn't. Matter_. No one in their right minds would waste their time looking for a freak of a street rat with no parents."

"Why, Amethyst, that was such a cruel thing to do," he shook his head in false disappointment. "Especially for a delicate pretty little thing like you."

"All part of the job, Chike," She teased with a small giggle. "_Now_, shouldn't we get on to our main topic?"

"Why, _of course_ we can, Amethyst."

**So I've been focusing on the villains for a while but I PROMISE we'll get back to the team in the next chapter.**

** Just a note: If Wally and Dakota's conversation sounded a bit too romantic or anything...it's not. I'm not a fan of OC/canon character ships and Wally was just being a good friend. And no, Dakota will not be replacing Dick as Wally's best friend if that's what you were thinking.**

** As always, thanks so much for and drop a review on your way out if you have the time c:**

** -BirdsSpeedandArrows xx**


	21. Chapter 21

"Checkmate," the boy muttered quietly, his fingers brushing against the ceramic of the chess piece.

"That's the third win in a row, child," the mercenary commented, sounding impressed but the child could see the slightest hint of irritation leaking through his calm tone.

"All in the day's work of someone as specially trained as I am," the boy shrugged. "You would know."

"Or I'm just letting you win," Deathstroke corrected casually.

"Maybe," he shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe not."

"Then again, you are what others would consider a child prodigy," Deathstroke sounded content, as if he was showing off a prized possession.

"Not a child prodigy but 'something more'. Or at least that's what those scientists said when they-"

"-Enough," The man cut him off abruptly, his voice as sharp as a sword. "We shouldn't be talking about this so casually, boy," he scolded.

"Sorry," the child replied sheepishly, fiddling with this hands boredly. "But why exactly do we have to play Chess? We could've played Monopoly or Candyland."

"Those games are childish and pointless, all you would achieve from playing them is wasting valuable time that you could've used for training purposes. Chess is a game of strategy and would help you build tactics in battle."

"Killjoy," the child muttered under his breath sourly.

"What was that, child?"

"Nothing," the dark haired boy answered softly. "Absolutely nothing at all."

"Good," Deathstoke's voice was clipped and short, the warning in there as clear as crystal. "I expect nothing more than greatness from you, boy."

'Don't you always?' The boy Wayne's to say but kept his mouth tightly shut, he didn't want to risk getting extra hours on training or even more missions, he had _more than_ _enough_ of both of those things already.

**BREAKLINE**

"There really is no place like home, isn't there?" Sel inquired as she ungraciously plopped her backpack down on the couch and walked to the kitchen where Jason was snacking on an apple from the fridge. "Though I can't say that I'll miss hanging out with Dickie-bird and the rest of the team."

"You're there at their little hideout like every weekend, Selastine," Jason pointed out before taking a bite of the red fruit.

A grin slipped on her face at the reply and a pair of young blue eyes shimmered mischievously at the anti-hero. "Aww, you should've just said that you would miss me, Jason. Otherwise, I would've never left you behind to stay with your brother in the first place."

"More like the other way around, brat," Jason corrected with an eye-roll, taking another bite of the apple.

"Don't hate the player, hate the game," the young girl shrugged her shoulders casually.

Jason nearly made a choking noise and scowled deeply. "New rule: if you still want to live here, _never_ and I mean _never_, say those words in the same sentence again, got it?"

"Okie dokie, Jay-bird."

The anti-hero made a more-than-annoyed face at that and groaned exasperatedly at his beaming protégé. "Okay now you're just testing my patience."

"I can't help it that I'm spunky."

"Do you _want_ me to slice your allowance in half, kid?"

"Either way, I'm still gonna be here."

"I _could_ kick you out, you know."

Sel placed her hand on her chest and made an overdramatic hurt face at the older man. "Oh but Jason, I thought we were in this together!"

Stopping himself from slapping himself in the face, Jason sighed. Sel always _did_ know how to push his buttons. But nevertheless, the kid had a lot of talent and like she said, she had a lot of spunk. "What did Dick even feed you while you were staying with him?"

"Pizza bites and red velvet cupcakes," Sel answered honestly. "Why?"

Deciding to change the topic at hand, Jason leaned his back against the counter, inspecting one of his guns. "So what do you say, kid? We hitting the streets tonight or not? Word is that there's a new gang all the way from Coast City in town and I have to take care of it. You coming with me or are you staying behind?" Jason queried, loading up more of his weapons and stashing them in his utility belt.

A flashing expression appeared on Sel's face as her eyes lightened up, already reaching for her red cloak, she smiled. "Is that even a question anymore, Jason?"

**BREAKLINE**

"None of them are getting enough sleep, Wally, some of them are even getting nightmares every night and nothing that we're doing is helping them at all," Dick's tone of voice sounded tired, words coming out leaking with exhaustion. Not to mention, he himself looked liked he hadn't been

"Hey," the speedster said, resting his hands on Dick's shoulders to calm him done. "We'll get through this, okay? We'll figure it out. We always do."

Visible blue eyes glanced at him questioningly. "Is it affecting you too, Wally? You're acting strange, have you been feeling sick lately? Nauseous? Having trouble sleeping or concentrating?" Dick interrogated, his eyes narrowed into small slits as he did a brief scan at his best friend to make sure that he was doing alright.

"Oh my God, your bat paranoia is showing again," Wally slapped his hand to his forehead. "You really are the big Bat's kid, aren't you, Wing?"

"Like your appetite is as big as every speedster's," Dick retorted testily, arms folded against his chest, his gaze darting to the five now-empty plates stacked in front of Wally. "Yours is as big as they come, Walls."

"Whatever," Wally rolled his eyes carelessly. "None of that matters right now. What matters is that despite all this crap that's going on right now, you _need_ some rest, Dickie-bird. I'm not telling you this not as The Flash but as your best friend," Wally told him firmly, green eyes locked on Dick's blue ones.

"We both know that that's not possible, Wally," Dick argued steadily. "There's the League, The Team and a lot more things I have to take care of."

"Not on my watch you aren't," Wally replied, equally as stubborn. "Donna, Kyle and everyone else can handle the League for a while, Blüdhaven's doing spectacular all on its own, Batman can manage both the sanity and the well-being of your family just fine and I can take care off the Team for a few days. They're all old enough anyways."

"And Lilinette? You _are_ aware that she's only eight, right?" Dick questioned with a quirked eyebrow.

"She's more than capable of taking care of herself, Dick. Sure she has a razor sharp tongue and she's as small as they come. But Lilinette can hold her own against most grown adults. She'll be fine, and everyone else will be too, dude."

Dick bit on his bottom lip in thought and sighed in defeat. If this little conversation of theirs had taken place at a different time, Dick would've never let Wally leave this restaurant with the last word but he was tired, he hadn't gotten sleep in days and he had drank not one, not two, but five cups of coffee this morning just to stay awake and not pass out in the middle of lunch. "Fine," he huffed like a little kid with a sigh. "But just so you know, I'm not doing this for you."

The grin on the other man's face didn't even falter the slightest bit at the response.

"Anytime, baby bird. I mean, what kind of best friend would I be if I couldn't get you to calm down every once in a while?" Wally chuckled, reaching his hand out to ruffle the younger man's messy hair. "Now I want you to go home, get some sleep while I go handle the team, okay?"

Dick looked like he was about to protest but Wally have him a look that meant that he would do _everything_ in his power just to stop the ebony from getting to the Cave.

"Fine," the acrobat repeated with a huff, blowing a piece of his hair out of his eyes and resting his chin on his hand. "But don't expect that you'll win anymore arguments with me for as long as you live, okay? This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing so savor it all you can, Wall-man."

"I wouldn't count on it for the world, birdie."

**BREAKLINE**

"What did the punching bag ever do to you?" Isaac queried, walking into the training room to see Dan beating the living crap out of the poor punching bag with his stone hand.

The brown haired teen didn't give a verbal reply and instead sent another strong punch at the bag with a loud 'thud'.

"What are you guys doing?" Questioned Calvin from the door way, dropping his backpack on the floor with Keiji and Green following suit.

"It's about time you guys showed up," Dan remarked, spotting Lilinette practicing a series of kicks from the corner of his eye. "We've been sitting here like ducks just waiting for you."

"There was traffic," Keiji explained, setting his sword on one of the shelves nearby along with the rest of his belongings.

Before Lilinette could say something, a loud alarm set off and almost immediately, loud beeping sounds blazed off and all the bright blue and white lights of the Cave were replaced by red ones instead.

** "WARNING: EMERGENCY ALERT. EMERGENCY ALERT. UNIDENTIFIED ALIEN SPECIES DETECTED IN DOWN-TOWN HAPPY HARBOR. EMERGENCY LEVEL: THREE." **A robotic monotone voice blared through the speakers.

"Again?!" Dan threw his hands up in the air but everyone else was too busy rushing to the large main screen to see what was going on.

"Guys, do you really think we should do this without Nightwing around?" Green inquired worriedly, directing her gaze to the coordinates on the screen and reading through them as quickly as humanly possible.

"Don't be any more stupid than you already are, you dunces," Lilinette looked up at the (much taller) teenagers with her infamous scowl.

"I agree with Green," Calvin added in. "Sure we have to take responsibility of our actions and all but going out on the files without direction? That's crazy."

"Citizens will die if we don't intervene," IIeana stated seriously. "Roughly two to five thousand civilian deaths would happen if we stand here and wait for either Nightwing or Flash."

"Then it's settled, then," Keiji said, putting his hands together. "We'll get our coordinates and head out to the city."

Isaac gave a quick nod at his teammates with a grin on his face. "So what're we waiting for, then?"

**BREAKLINE**

Instead of seeing an entire army of aliens flying on hover boards flying over the city and zapping everything that stood in their direction, everything looked completely fine and in one piece. The buildings were still standing, birds were still chirping happily and families were gathered all over picnic tables at the park.

"Is it just the rooftop we're standing on, or does everything look normal?" Green looked around them in confusion.

"The computer must've fucked up," Stone remarked with a sneer. "There's clearly nothing going on around here."

"It doesn't make any sense though," Filo Rosso frowned thoughtfully. "

"Even today, technology still isn't at its best with all these mistakes and inefficiencies," Nova shook her head, placing her sword back in it's sheath.

"If there's nothing here then why be here in the first place?" Switch asked. "I say we get back to the Cave and call up Nightwing to see if the systems malfunctioned or something."

"Ditto," Fang said in agreement, already turning on his heel to leave but was quickly stopped by Ever Green's clearly shocked exclamation of 'Fang!'

"Now don't be rude, baby heroes," A high voice said in a condescending tone and like magic (literally), a familiar purple-eyed and pink-clad brunette was standing in front of them dressed in a sparkly pink dress and her hair curled at the very ends. "We haven't even started playing yet!"

"You again?" Fang questioned in clear befuddlement. "I thought we got rid of you and your group of D-list villains just a few days ago!"

Stone made a noise of agreement and scowled. "And speaking of which, where the hell are your friends?" He asked harshly, eyebrows furrowed together tightly.

"We were playing a game but then they cheated and totally paid the price for it," Amethyst said, sounding solemn but the content look in her eyes said the exact opposite. "But in other news, yes, it was me who made the alarms set off just when everyone showed up in the oversized rock you all call a hide-out. It wouldn't be so much fun if a few of you were missing, right?"

Unimpressed, Nova scoffed loud enough for her to hear and kicked a pebble beside her foot in clear boredom. "Who are you even trying to impress here? The ones reading this fanfic? Because frankly, almost everyone reading this story knows you're a pastel-loving psychopathic sadist."

Amethyst sent the small girl a mock-hurt look and frowned. "Don't be so mean, Nova, you wound my feelings terribly. But then again, you _are_ the baby of the group so that's pretty much expected."

Nova spat out a spiral of profanities at Amethyst but she was ignored. The sorceress treating the death threats like they were music to her ears.

"I would've really liked to play with all of you right here and now but then again, I have business to do with a certain Mr. Demon so we have to cut this play-date short," Amethyst pouted slightly, her bottom lip jutted out to prove her point.

Then out of nowhere a burst of transparent pink light hit the entire team..._hard_. It was as if their bodies were burning from the inside out, a stinging pain even stronger than what felt like a million needles sinking into their skin and poisoning them.

"Oopsie daisy~" She jeered in a sing-song voice, batting her long eyelashes innocently at a certain dark haired teen.

"Impossible!" Gold Mage shouted, both his arms and legs bound tightly behind his back. "That she-demon couldn't get any stronger than she already is! How could this have happened?!"

"Sweetie, you of all people should know that in the world we live in, nothing's impossible. I mean, we have guys who can run from the North Pole to the South Pole in seconds , toddler sword-masters, a whole entire family wearing dark colors and jumping off rooftops, aliens, modern-day archers, science experiments gone wrong, _anything _you can think of!If you really think hard about it, this new world is completely different to what you're used to right, Rum-Rum?"

_"That was fantastic rumple!" Carrietta exclaimed as they walked back through the forest path, Rumple at her side._

_"Well I am glad you enjoyed the ice skating, it was lucky there was a pond nearby to freeze over," he said as they continued walking, it had been Carrietta's birthday and Rumple had done everything within his power to ensure she had an amazing day. _

_"Just wait until you see what I have for you back at the castle, my dear," he said with a grin. _

_"Rumple no! You have spoiled me enough already, I have no need of anything more than what I have already," she insisted kindly, snuggling closer to him as she said it; the sorcerer felt his heart warm slightly at her words._

_"Well I insist upon it, you will love this gift, and afterwards we ca-" he began to say only to come to a sudden stop, Carrietta looking at him in confusion._

_"Rumple, what is it?" She asked worriedly._

_He didn't respond as his eyes were knitted in confusion before darting around as if looking for something._

_"There is something following us," he whispered as he moved his arm to bring Carrietta behind him in a shielding motion.  
As soon as he said that, the wind in the area began to pick up, tree's lost leaves and several branches broke off and fell, a growling sound filled the air as if from some wild beast._

_"W-What is it?" Carrietta cried out in fear as Rumple held her behind him._

_However he didn't answer as he saw a figure in the distance, it was standing at the end of the forest path, blocking the exit to the main road. It was a dark figure that appeared to be shrouded in smoke and mist, the small amount of flesh that could be seen was as black as coal, and two bright red eyes gleamed at them gleefully. _

_" …T-The Devourer.." Rumple muttered in shock._

_"The Devourer?" Carrietta questioned as she tried not to look at the creatures eyes, it seemed to be staring at her directly. _

_"A demonic creature of legend, it is a being of semi-physical form, able to shift and alter its density and appearance. Not many know of its existence because anyone rarely lives after seeing it, I only know from stories told to me long ago, the Devourer is known to not only kill its victims but it uses its ability's to steal the magic and power from sorcerers and people with abilities beyond those of mortals."_

_Carrietta was now looking at the creature in fear; it seemed to be moving closer, floating off the ground._

_"I think it's safe to say it's here for me," Rumple said as he moved forward._

_"But you said it has the power of people its killed, and that it can take yours, are you sure it's possible for you to beat this thing, or even kill it?" Carrietta exclaimed in fear for her beloved._

_"I believe it's a possibility, now go!"_

_Carrietta gave him a concerned glance before taking off in the opposite direction._

_As soon as Rumple turned back the Devourer was already directly in front of him, before Rumple could respond its right fist connected with his jaw, sending him flying back into a tree._

_The creature let out a growl before flying at him, its right hand morphing into a long blade like appendage. He managed to recover from the blow and move to the left just as the blade was about to pierce him. Thinking quickly he thrust his hands out and the Devourer was thrown back by a strong blast of air. _

_"It's going to take more than throwing me into a tree to beat me, creature!" Rumple said smirking and quickly summoned two fireballs in his hands and threw them at the Devourer._

_The creature merely flew up and dodged them and rose up higher into the air, before coming to a stop. Rumple looked up in confusion before noticing the Devourer's smirk as it seemed to breathe in a large quantity of air, before exhaling down and an enormous explosion of flame spewed out into the area. _

_Rumple quickly muttered a spell and his body was shielded as the flames blanketed the entire area, it seemed as if the Devourer was setting fire to half the forest in one attack as the flames spread away from the area they were currently fighting in.  
His shield disappeared as Rumple looked around in awe as the forest burned, before he could react he felt his hands be restrained, he looked down to see dark roots sprout up from the ground and restrain his hands and legs, the vines and roots spread until his entire body, save for his head were visible. _

_He tried to focus his magic on weakening the roots, but they were somehow suppressing his power, making it harder for him to break.  
The devourer suddenly appeared in front of him, Rumple looked at it with a glare as he continued to try and free himself, he wouldn't just let this thing defeat him so easily._

_However, the Devourer merely looked at him with an amused expression, before its head turned to the side, along the path Rumple had taken, and its face twisted to one of glee before it flew off down in that direction.  
Rumple looked at the beings retreating form in confusion, as he momentarily stopped struggling._

_"Why would it…..Carrietta!" He cried out in realisation as he now worked frantically to free himself._

"Well that was more than a joy to watch~" Amethyst remarked thoughtfully, cutting off the memory with a simple snap of her fingers as Rumple continued to yell strings of incantations at her but were proved to be useless seeing as nothing happened. "Looks like you have even more secrets for me to take a closer look at, huh Rum-Rum?"

"Don't call me that," hissed the struggling sorcerer, feeling his entire body weakening by the minute.

"We're right on schedule! I absolutely can't wait for you guys to meet some good friends of mine! They'll love you all to bits!" Amethyst grinned, watching as Stone continued to curse loudly, Filo Rosso calling for her drones and everyone else trying to break free from the magic-constructed box. "No need for your powers, weapons or your gadgets, little ones. You wouldn't be needing them where we're going," She giggled mirthfully before everything turned black.

_** -To be continued-**_

**Credits to iamgoku for all the ideas and the beautifully written flashback scenes :) ILYSM for everything, you're absolutely fantastic XD **

**Thanks** **so much for everything and for sticking with me and this fic for so long. Once again, I really appreciate it :D**

** -BirdsSpeedandArrows xx**


	22. Chapter 22

Amethyst licked her lips as she locked up her captives in the cube they were in with a spell just in case they would even think about getting away.

A knock on her door interrupted her thoughts and a head of ash-brown hair entered her vision, expensive Italian leather shoes tapping against the wooden floors. "Why hello, my dear, you're back early," Chike greeted her with a smile, repeating his famous ritual by taking her hand and brushing his lips against her knuckles lightly. "And I can see that you've brought us a few friends to play with."

"I'm just doing my job," Amethyst replied, placing her hand on the magic-constructed cube and staring down at the still-unconscious teenagers. "It'll all be worth it once this is over, would it not?"

Chike blinked back at the reply before a large smile stretched across his face. "It would be worth it for the both of us, darling. You would get what you want and in return, I would have a lot of fun watching the both of us stand over our burning empire of torture and the best of all: _death_."

"You flatter me too much, Chike."

"I'm a gentleman, my job is to make a lady feel like she is the queen of the world...even if she is already a princess."

"What about your pet? The little dear must feel adulated from all the lavish treatment you've been giving her," Amethyst said, the tiniest drops of sarcasm in her tone just for Chike to know that she wasn't kidding.

The man's face scrunched ever-so-slightly at the shift of the topic but he replied nonetheless; "You're worried about her? I didn't take it that you cared for the lives of such mundane creatures, Amethyst."

"It's in consideration."

"Enough about her, Amethyst. I believe that we have more business to take care of, right?"

Not impressed by his answer but not daring to say anything about it, she nodded and made her way out of the room. "Right, I do know just how _obstinate_ and _troublesome_ demons could be, so let's not waste anymore of our time here."

Chike only grinned wider in response and Amethyst had to physically stop herself from slapping him in the face. Powerful or not, those shit-eating grins on his face always did know how to piss her off to the extremes.

**BREAKLINE**

"I can't trace any of their energy signals anywhere...it's like they just suddenly disappeared from the face of the earth. This shouldn't be possible, Wally," Nightwing pushed his hand through his hair in stress.

"Relax, Wing, you're putting too much stress on yourself," The other man tried but the ebony was having none of that.

"Wally, because of me, there are seven kids missing and most likely off-world! How do you want me to react?" Nightwing snapped, masked eyes dangerously narrowed at his best friend, who's shoulders slumped slightly in defeat.

"We hate to interrupt your little lover's spat, but we can see that you two clearly have more important problems as of now," A deep voice remarked from behind them, making Flash jump back in surprise.

Whirling his gaze behind him, Flash found himself staring at none other than a certain anti-hero with a red-hooded little girl standing right beside him with a sheepish grin.

"Jason?!" Flash exclaimed in surprise. Despite knowing about the 'bat-family' and such, he was still astounded to see Dick's younger brother right in front of him with Little Red nonetheless.

"We just happened to hear about your little dilemma and decided to drop by," Red Hood said with a smirk hidden underneath his helmet.

"And by 'just happened to hear' I take it you meant you hacked into our systems," Nightwing corrected, not even removing his eyes from the blinking dots on his computer screen, fingers typing into his keyboard furiously.

"Red Robin's not the only hacker in the family," Red Hood retorted.

"I'm actually kinda hurt that you thought we would do something like that," Little Red piped up with a mock pained expression. "It's like you guys don't trust us or anything."

"Or anything," Flash replied dryly. "Look, we appreciate the help and all but the last thing we want is to drag anyone else into this mess."

Little Red gave him a questioning look and an uncharacteristic frown slipped on her face as she looked up at Wally. "Dude, you just lost six teenagers plus one eight year old into another pocket realm-dimension-thingy, you guys need all the help you can get. Besides, the first thing Hood taught me was that if the situation you're in looks hopeless, then call in your 'sons of bitches' for help...or that's what a _sane_ person would do at least."

Red Hood, in return, lightly smacked her arm but it didn't even look like it hurt. "Kid, you remember the very first thing I taught you and yet you can't remember to shut up even if I tell you that everyday?"

"So _that_ explains where you got the kid...and where she got her spunk from," the speedster said to himself, earning himself three identical looks that said 'really?'

"_Anyways_," Red Hood cleared his throat. "You said something about a few missing kids, right?"

"Yes," Nightwing replied stiffly. "And there's not a single trace of them anywhere...not even a single strand of hair."

"Oh don't over-exaggerate, dickhead," Red Hood rolled his eyes. "You're like the biggest social butterfly anyone's ever encountered. Think about your resources, connections, people you know, cash in a few favors, get a cup of coffee on your way out and most importantly, calm the _fuck_ down."

"Well there are a few people with connections to magic and those kinds of things I know who could-" Nightwing started but was immediately cut off by his younger brother.

"-Not so fast there, Dickie-bird. You sure Flash-boy over here would agree to your terms service?" Red Hood quizzed pointedly.

"And just why wouldn't I?" Wally demanded to know, bothered by the fact that Jason didn't think he had the stomach to meet these 'people' Dick was referring to. He was The Flash, hero of Central City, the 'Scarlet Speedster' and member of the Justice League. He wasn't afraid of just anything! He would jump off a cliff into a sea of electric eels with poisoned acidic water with...big sharks or something if doing so would help with their current situation!

**BREAKLINE**

"No way," Flash shook his head rapidly as soon as the building they were ought to enter came into view. "There is no way I'm going to this psychic-fortune-teller-magician freak and put the fate of those kids, our _team_ in their slimy-old hands! They could be a bunch of frauds for all we know, Wing!"

"It's been more than a decade and you still have your doubts about anything involving magic," Nightwing sighed but there was a light touch of humor in his voice. "Just calm down, dude,

"You really should listen to what he says, Flash," Little Red added in with a shrug of her shoulders. "Because let's face it, dude, you'll most likely be the kind of husband who says 'yes' to whatever his significant other tells him to do."

Flash didn't deny that his jaw indeed hit the ground at what Little Red was saying. "Did Nightwing tell you that?"

"He didn't need to tell me, it was already obvious," Little Red said with a small giggle.

"Okay kid, you can continue terrorizing him later. Right now, we have shit to do," Red Hood ushered her to follow Nightwing who was already in front of the entrance.

"You guys coming or what?" Questioned Nightwing, making the other three glance at each other quickly before making their way to the entrance as well.

**BREAKLINE**

"So..." Red Hood started awkwardly, waiting for anyone to begin, he felt two pairs of eyes bore into his helmet and resisted the temptation to take it off just so that they could see him glare back at them.

"_These guys _are the ones you've been looking for_?"_ Flash questioned in befuddlement and in clear denial. "They're just little kids!"

Said 'little kids' looked to be about ten or eleven years old, they were (obviously) identical twins. They were skinny, looked ghostly-pale, both possessed identical dull gray eyes and two different shades of dark hair, one being lighter than the other. The smaller boy wore a white button up shirt that ended at his forearm along with a black necktie that hung loosely on his shirt, he also wore black jeans paired with black ratty old sneakers. His brother on the other hand, was wearing a plain black shirt, red shorts that reached to his knees and with black Suppras on his feet, hair hanging loosely over his face.

The apartment building they were in wasn't at its best condition either, the structure itself looked like it was constructed back in the 70's, the wallpaper was peeling off the walls whilst the wall behind it was grimy and growing with mold. The floorboards were creaky, doors were old while the windows were half-cracked and looked like they were gonna fall apart any second now. Even the room they were sitting in looked like an odd blend of a pre-teen's bedroom with even stranger elements in it such as the large shelves filled to the brim with both old and new books, the small wooden chest along with a collection of other items perched on the dresser. Decorations like ceramic owl figurines, dream catchers and Christmas lights hanging from the walls.

"You act like you haven't formed your own team of teenagers doing what most grown adults wouldn't do even if they were held at gun-point," the lighter haired one- Opal, quipped, making Red Hood, Little Red and Nightwing snicker at the speedster's embarrassment.

"Hey, that's uncalled for-" Flash tried to say but the other twin- Onyx, cut him off with a raise of his right hand.

"Talk," Onyx turned to Nightwing specifically. "Any vital information that could be useful to our search, Mr. Nightwing?"

"It's just Nightwing, thanks," He corrected them before stating his case; "I've heard Rumple talk about something regarding multiple realms. Specifically realms of death," Nightwing explained. "Anything you guys can tell us about _that_?"

"Did you just say Rumple?" Opal asked.

"Like Rumplestiltskin?" Onyx added in, leaning closer to the four in front of him.

"Yes," Nightwing replied stiffly, looking down at the red velveteen table cloth set out over the table. "We found him behind a large section of ice in Canada , he was- well still kinda is an amnesiac and he doesn't remember much of his own past. Though he is regaining bits and pieces of his memory and where he comes from."

"That's strangely coincidental, isn't it, Opal?" Onyx asked his brother who stood from his seat to search through the large bookcase behind them, standing on his tippy toes to scavenge through the many thick books to find what he was looking for.

"Then in that case, I'm sure that he's mentioned more than a thing or two about magic and just how complicated it could actually be," Opal answered, plucking off a large burgundy-colored book with yellowing pages off the shelf and sitting back down, setting the book down on the table and opening it up.

"Well not us directly, but one of them told Flash and I about it," Nightwing informed the two who looked at each other as if they were hiding some sort of big secret. "So...anything useful you can tell us?"

"Quite a lot actually," Onyx flipped through the pages of the book. "But what would you all prefer? The shortened version or the lengthy complicated version full of quirks and plot twists?"

"Keep it brief but detailed," Little Red chirped up, playing with the hem of her cape. "As fun as it would be, we don't really have the time for Earl Gray tea and butter cookies," she said and Flash could've sworn that he heard her mutter the word 'sadly' under her breath afterwards.

"Well I'm afraid that's a paradox all on its own, Miss Little Red," Opal said in a witty tone of voice. "But I can see where you're coming from so I'll let my dear brother, Onyx over here take it away."

"Of course you do, you flipping twat," Onyx sent a barely-there glare at his twin. "There are seven realms of death, each having their own ruler and each realm being different from the other. As Miss Little Red said, I should keep this short so I must keep out all the irrelevant details that have nothing to do with rescuing your 'team' whatsoever: It's most likely that a certain pink and purple-clad sorceress named 'Amethyst Hexx' has taken them into one of these realms. One thing about Amethyst is that whenever she works alongside with someone; they don't need a reason to work together apart from the fact that they're bored and absolutely have nothing to do with their 'immortal' lives and so they cause destruction."

"Well that's one Hell of a fairytale you didn't really have to tell us," Red Hood snorted. "All I know is that a few were abducted and taken to somewhere we don't know and we have to rescue them. You two being the guides who tell us how to rescue them, nothing more, nothing less."

"Well I think all this stuff is awesome...dangerous and deadly, but still awesome," Little Red commented, earning herself a nudge of the elbow coming from her mentor to tell her to shut up.

"_However_," Opal's voice cut through the air like a sharp blade. "Although Onyx here refuses to believe me, I personally hypothesize that the ruler of Mrytu isn't working with just Amethyst. He has his slaves, his allies and even some other creatures even Onyx and I aren't aware about. Most of the details we don't completely know are based from legends and stories passed down to us by the others."

"What about the team then?" Nightwing inquired direly. "Are they safe?"

"One can only hope so, Mr. Nightwing," Opal shook his head. "Demons are unpredictable in every sense of way and being across different realms or dimensions only complicates the problem."

"So what does this mean then?" Flash queried.

"It means that your team has somehow broke the inter-dimensional barrier," Onyx mused, placing his finger on his chin. "And the only way to do the same is to acquire some sort of the same magic."

Nightwing took all of this information down mentally like the Bat-trained hero he was and sighed. "And do you happen to have anything that could send us to said inter-dimensional barrier?"

"I have a theory however it is not quite tested enough for anyone to put into action," Opal informed them with a small frown.

"Well, what is it, then?" Flash asked, growing even more anxious by the passing second.

"His theory involves something similar of that of a combination of teleportation technology and certain elements of dark magic. Think of a cross between a portkey that would allow one to travel in between magic realms and the same technology you use in your Zeta Tubes," Onyx explained

"Like Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire kind of Portkey?" Little Red asked, her head tilted to the side.

"In a way, yes, but this one is quite more complex than that one," Opal replied with a ghost of a smile...the first they had seen on any of the twin's faces. "There's dark magic, demonic magic, elemental magic and so many others that we don't even have the time to mention."

Little Red crinkled her nose slightly at the last statement. "And are you guys magic-users too?"

Both brothers actually looked taken aback at the question and peered at each other nervously, Onyx only speaking up after a few moments of tense silence. "Yes and no. As you can see, my brother and I have an extensive knowledge about magic and those kinds of things. Like us, there are a select few people on Earth who have been born with a magical seal that our older brothers and sisters call 'the seal of gifts' where if a child is born with one, they are brought to the Island of Gemstones or '_Galaxione_ _Gematia_' as it is called. The seal symbolizes that the child- in their past lives, was a sorcerer or magic user reincarnated back onto Earth."

"And as you can see, we both have identical seals as well," Opal pulled down the collar of his shirt to show a black seal marked into his skin, Onyx doing the same, revealing the exact same circle with a curved line in the middle. "Everyone- or at least most of them who has been born with a similar seal on any part of their body, no matter how big or small is brought to the island to be educated on their bloodline and who they really are. And if they wish to, they may even learn how to regain some of their magical abilities as well. And let me tell you this right here and now; the legendary Amethyst Hexx was raised on the very same island. The only problem here was that none of the people on the island knew that Amethyst wasn't a reincarnated magic-user but was a hybrid between a magic user and an incredibly strong _demon."_

"Onyx? Opal? Amethyst?" Red Hood listed off with a frown. "Either it's oddly coincidental that both you guys and Amethyst are named after gems...or maybe there's something more to this than what we know of."

"Amethyst, or at least what from what our older brothers and sisters tell us, is one of the biggest mistakes that the very universe has ever made. She- or should I say _he_ was born as the first chosen Prince of the Island of Gemstone thousands of years ago, he was spoiled rotten as a child and worked with the best trainers. Amethyst's powers were beyond what anyone could possibly ever imagine, having demon blood flowing through his veins and all. When Amethyst started to see just how powerful he really was, he rebelled by transforming himself into other creatures like pretty girls or cute tiny little animals so that no one could track him down. So after a few years, Amethyst took on a new form; a lovely girl with sunshine-colored hair and claimed herself to be the rightful ruler of the island," Opal said, not the littlest bit of humor in his voice.

"In fact, Amethyst tried to recruit us into her team of mediocre teenage 'villains' but as you can see, we refused her offer and went into hiding," Onyx added in. "There are only a select few creatures in the multiverse who can say 'no' to Amethyst Hexx who could get out of the room with all their body parts still intact. We even had to call up a few people to help shield ourselves from Amethyst. But fortunately for us, she's been too occupied with other things to even care about our existence anymore so that's alright."

"A perfect example of this would be her 'team'. A few of them grew suspicious, tried to place their plans into action and where are they now? Haven't you noticed that there aren't any traces of those teenagers left behind?" Opal asked. "Because I'm positive the last time you checked, her teammates were missing, were they not?"

Little Red peered at her mentor then turned to the twins. "So what happened to those guys? She couldn't just have let them go, right?"

"It's most likely that she tortured them one by one, made them relive their most painful, dreaded memories before either suffering them from the inside out or burning them with a spell. The most messed up part about it all is that Amethyst didn't even let them see the very flames that burned them, one of her favorite things to do is to make them invisible and watch her victims suffer. Once that's done, she waits for them to breathe out their final dying breath and dumps their bodies down wherever or whenever she feels like it. Amethyst, if my theories are correct, now possesses an even darker magic from working alongside _demons_. And because of all of these things, our whole entire legacy and name is permanently tainted because of _Amethyst Hexx,_" Opal clenched his fist in an act of silent fury, spitting the name out as if it were poisonous, his eyes darkening into a darker shade of gray.

"Enough about all this family tree bullshit," Red Hood interrupted before either Opal or Onyx could stretch on the already complicated ordeal at hand. "Do you two have the things we need to travel through realms or not?"

Identical haunting smiles crossed the twins' faces that sent a few chills up Flash and Little Red's spines. Nightwing and Red Hood not even remotely flinching at the action (having to have seen way worse coming from Batman. His _smiles_ were absolutely _horrifying.)_ "You're in luck, Mr. Red Hood, the things you would need are somewhere amongst our collection and we'd be glad to lend them to you if you're interested in testing out our theory on inter-dimensional travel without exactly having to use advanced dark magic like Amethyst's," Onyx said, his expression not even twitching the slightest bit.

"I'm guessing magic stones and junk don't come cheap and that you two have a price in mind that you want us to pay, isn't there?" Flash crossed his arms like a stubborn business man at a conference meeting.

"Apart from being a speedster, are you a mind-reader as well?" Opal chuckled but it was hollow and he got no reaction apart from a barely-hidden snicker coming from Onyx, seeing as the main reason Nightwing, Flash, Red Hood and Little Red were here in the first place was because of their dire situation. "Fine. But we will not be charging any of you a single cent or whatever currency you wish to use."

"Well that sounds pretty shady, doesn't it?" Red Hood inquired, not directing the question to anyone in particular. "From what we can hear from you guys, these 'things' about as 'magical' as one of Thanos' infinity gems in Marvel and you're giving it away just like that?"

"We're lending you the gems without expecting any material objects in return but we do have two conditions," Onyx corrected, Opal making a sound of agreement.

"Oh God, you guys aren't gonna make us your slaves, aren't you?" Flash questioned in horror.

"As tempting as the offer would be, _no_. The first condition is that you don't tell a _single_ _soul_ about anything we've discussed tonight," Opal started blandly, voice sounding as dry as the sand in a desert.

Onyx held out his pointer finger before continuing; "Secondly, both Opal and I would have to come with you on your 'mission'. And if any of you refuse to comply with what my brother and I want, then you can consider this 'deal' of ours to be non-existent."

"What?" Sputtered Flash at the sudden change of events. "There's no way we're bringing in a bunch of total strangers into this! We hardly even know you kids! How would we know that you guys won't hand us over to Emerald Jinx or whatever her name is?!"

"It may be our only chance, Wally," Nightwing spoke up, his eyes- even when masked, gazing into Wally's soul, making his resolve crumble almost instantly. "This is the team we're talking about here, dude. And if in any worst-case-scenario where they betray us or anything, let's not forget that we've been in the hero gig for more than a _decade_."

"Fine," Flash sighed, he was already used to fighting losing battles with his best friend and despite years of ending up defeated, he didn't know why he even tried anymore. Dick was not only raised and trained under the Batman, but he was also the most stubborn person Wally has ever met in his entire twenty-eight years of existence.

"So what do we do next then?" Little Red asked the question that was one everyone's mind.

"Easy," Nightwing placed his fist on the table, looking "We find the team and get them out of there."

**_-_To Be Continued-**

** Yes I know, another cliffhanger (I couldn't help myself) But yeah..I don't really have anything else to say so I'll see you guys next chapter!**

** -BirdsSpeedandArrows xx**


	23. Chapter 23

"You ready?" Flash asked as Onyx and Opal were scribbling notes down furiously behind them, Red Hood and Little Red reloading their guns and stuffing them into their utility belts.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Nightwing cracked a smile with a half-shrug bit inside, he couldn't deny that his nerves were going crazy. It wasn't everyday you went into an entirely different realm where the world and reality as you know it was completely irrelevant. In all the years he had spent taking down common thugs to intergalactic threats, going into a realm of death was one of the strangest and most difficult things he was about to do in his entire life.

"_Sure, _you are," Flash raised an eyebrow at him expectantly. "It's not everyday you teleport into a mix of outer space and Hell and expect to come back home alive and in one piece."

"Just don't die out there, okay, dude?" Nightwing said to him with a small smirk but they both knew that he was serious and deeply concerned over his best friend.

"You really should listen to your own advice, Wing. You could get killed out there and I'm not about to save your sorry ass at the last second like the fearless hero that I am."

"Oh don't blame the ass for it, Wall-man," Nightwing winked at him and earned himself a chuckle. "Everyone loves the Grayson ass."

"Well aren't you feeling extra narcissistic today."

"I'm confident, it's all part of my charm."

"Well how's about I bring that charm of yours into my bedroom and see how far that takes us," Wally wiggled his eyebrows and winked.

"If you guys are done flirting with each other then I suggest you finish getting ready," Red Hood remarked dryly from behind them, ignoring his partner's barely-stifled giggles.

Both Nightwing and Flash blushed a little at the comment and doing so only made Little Red laugh even more.

"I'll leave you guys to it," Red Hood smirked before turning and walking in the other direction to where the twins were standing.

"Don't listen to him," Little Red reassured, her beaming grin not leaving her face. "He's just a sour spoilsport who likes to ruin romantic moments but that's okay, I'll let you both go back to your fun!" She called after them before chasing after her mentor, her laughs bouncing off the walls.

Flash let out a groan and looked at the other man with a half-hearted tired look, knowing that the both of them were thinking the exact same thing. "They're hard to deal with enough when alone but when together, the two of will be the death of us, Wing."

"I couldn't have envisioned it any other way, Wally."

**BREAKLINE**

"You sure about this, kid?" Red Hood looked down at his protégé with concern. "You don't have to go if you don't feel like it."

"Would you prefer that I stay at home and be a couch potato?" Little Red recommended jokingly. "Because I totally can."

"I don't think you understand how much of a big deal this is, Sel."

A hurt look flashed it's way on to her face for a split second but it disappeared as quickly as it appeared. With her eyes slightly downcast, Little Red shrugged sheepishly. "Sorry."

Noticing this and cursing himself for being a fucking idiot, Jason felt his stomach twist up. Great, just great, he made the kid feel bad. He'd most definitely win the 'worst guardian of the year' award from what he can see right now. And that was saying something because he himself had trained under _Batman_ for God's sakes. Leaning down to her height, he sighed. "This'll be one of the riskiest things you'll ever do in your entire life -if not, the _most dangerous_. And I'm not about to force a scared kid out there and get her killed."

"It's okay to feel scared, right?" Little Red asked, finally removing her gaze from the floor.

"Everyone's afraid of at least one thing," Red Hood supplied. "Even Superman himself is scared of a few things."

"Then will you be mad at me if I said that I was terrified?" Little Red mumbled softly. "Because I am."

"I'm not mad at you, Sel. I'm actually proud of you," Red Hood said, equally as soft. He had never been one for these emotional heart-to-heart things, especially with kids (no, leave that to Grayson, things like that were his specialty). "You're gonna risk your life for these kids you just met, you know?"

"They're my friends too, Jay-bird," Little Red said, pulling her hood over her head. "And I'm not about to let them be killed by some crazy demon lady."

"Good, because there's no way I'm having a scaredy-cat for a partner," The anti-hero said in content. And although he would never admit it out loud, the small grin on her face was enough to make him smile underneath his helmet.

Oh God, the kid really was making him soft. She had been for quite a while now and he didn't even notice. '_Good job, Jason, you've really done it this time_,' he mentally scolded himself for being a fucking unobservant cauliflower before shaking his head and listening intently on whatever his protégé had to say this time.

**BREAKLINE**

His body felt like it was on fire and yet it was cold. Limbs unmovable and dark strands of hair fell in front of his face. With his cheek resting on the tiled floor, Rumple cracked his eyes open, half expecting to find himself in a dirty old dungeon. Torture devices from different time periods and all.

But the thing is, he wasn't in a dungeon or grimy cell at all. The room was well-lit, clean and no torture devices of any sort could be found. The room itself was actually _empty_ apart from the lights and the single door that didn't look like anything Rumple has ever seen in his life, it was large enough to only fit a single person, it possessed a strange indigo color and had strange carvings all over it.

Then he saw it. Correction; he saw her. The blasted demoness Rumple had learned to loathe in such a short time; _Amethyst Hexx._

"I can see that you're awake, Rum-Rum," Amethyst practically sang as she kneeled down to his level, her long lavender-colored dress pooling around her on the floor. "Now that you're up, we're gonna have so much fun~"

"Where are they?" Rumple questioned from his place on the floor but it was more of a demand than anything else. His _friends_ were nowhere in sight and even he himself didn't know just how they'd be able to survive being captured in a new environment...especially like the environment as torturous and unpitying as Mrytu.

"Well I can't say that their dead but I can't say that they're alive and well either," Amethyst shrugged nonchalantly.

"You pile of evil scum!" He cursed at her angrily, spitting out incantations but like his previous encounter with the sorceress, they were proved to be useless.

"Now this is what we're gonna do, Rum-Rum. I'm gonna go on a little trip inside your head and once that's done, I'm gonna do it again and again and _again," _Amethyst explained gleefully, as if she had been rewarded with a tray of cookies rather than be insulted.

"And my teammates?" Rumple added, refusing to stop struggling against the chains. "Where are they and what are you planning to do with them, you blood-lusting she-devil?"

The wide grin on her face was enough to give even the Joker a run for his money. "Nothing that'll matter later on when I'm done with you, Rum-Rum. Now let's go back and finish up where we stopped the last time we met, shall we?" She cupped his face with her hand, her palms were smooth and soft but they were icy-cold, making Rumple wince a little at the touch.

"Shhhhh," Amethyst hushed him, placing her finger on his lips before everything turned black.

_A minute later he was free and running through the forest, leaping over logs and trees, one thing on his mind, the Devourer, and what it would do if it found Carietta.  
However a high pitched scream caught his attention._

_"Carrietta!" he screamed as he ran in the direction of the sound, coming to a stop as he saw the Devourer standing near the pond from earlier, holding Carietta by her throat as it pushed her against a tree. Carietta looking up at Rumple with deep fearful eyes._

And then it happened.

_The Devourer used its other arm, which had morphed into a blade appendage, and rammed it through Carrietta's stomach._

_"NOOOO!" Rumple screamed as he leapt at the creature, however it merely disappeared with a puff of smoke, leaving the two people there alone._

_"R-Rumple..."_

_Turning to see Carrietta lying there on the ground, he instantly paled at the sight of her, her midsection was bleeding heavily and she was losing a lot of blood._

_Rumple instantly rushed to her side, bringing her head up on his lap."I-It'll be ok, Carrietta, ok just stay with me now" he said as he moved some hair out of her eyes._

_"I can heal you, I can heal you," he repeated frantically as he brought a hand down to her stomach and concentrated, his hand glowing a light green colour as he ran his hands along the wound. However instead of closing up, the wound remained open, as if repelling his magic._

_"It's not…..It's not working, why isn't it working!" he exclaimed as he became more and more worried, the Devourer must have used its power to prevent him from saving her, the wound was rejecting any attempts to fix it._

_"Rumple, its ok," she said weakly._

_"No, No I can't..I can't lose you," he said as his eyes began to well up with tears._

_"It'll be ok Rumple," she said soothingly, her voice becoming weaker by the second._

_"You were the first person, to see through all 'this',"he said gesturing to his appearance, and it was true, other than his adopted mother, Carrietta was the only person never to look at him with fear or hatred, and now he would lose her._

_"You saved me from a life of pain and misery," Carrietta said as she brought her hand up to stroke his face softly._

_"By forcing you to be my servant, hah, some help I was," he said bitterly._

_"You know that's not true, I am the one who wanted to go with you, and I am glad that I did."_

_"But you're ….You're dying, if you hadn't met me this wouldn't have happened."_

_"You're right, I wouldn't have died here, but long ago at the hands of that monster I was almost forced to marry. But instead I was given the chance to know you, and I am forever grateful that I did my love, I will always cherish our time together…" she said as her voice was little above a whisper, her eyes flickering._

_"Carietta…Carietta!" he said as she looked at him weakly._

_"Do not lose yourself…..stay strong…Rumplestiltskin."_

_Rumple watched as the life drained from her eyes, and her form went limp in his arms.  
A drop of liquid fell onto her face, and it took him a few seconds to realise he was crying, the tears flowing from his eyes like a fountain as he cradled her body closer to himself, screaming out in protest as he hugged her tightly._

"Awww, isn't that the sweetest?" Amethyst purred into his ear as his eyes snapped open to reveal that he was still in the blasted jail cell, his whole body feeling heavy and numb. "Your precious little Carietta breathing her last dying breath in your arms as the light disappeared from her eyes. Cliché but still so adorable, Rum-Rum."

"I-I...r-remember," he said to himself weakly, his head spinning and his gaze unfocused and drowsy.

Amethyst made a small scoffing noise at that. "Trust me when I tell you this, Rumple, the _only_ reason you had been gaining your memories was because of _me_ and my magic, not yoursor anyone else's_. _And you can stop struggling now, Rumple. We'll have to continue as quickly as possible, right?" She said before everything turned dark once again.

Rumple walked through the town slowly, he had taken Carrietta's body back to his castle the night before and placed it in a glass coffin. He had quickly gone searching for any rumour of The Devourer's location or its movements, and had heard that one particular town had seen it pass through.

He was wearing a dark brown cloak which covered most of his body and a hood to hide his face as he made his way to the town hall, were the mayor was giving a speech to the large amounts of people attending.

Rumple walked up to the hall and made his way in, he stopped near the back and stood in one of the corners behind a row of sitting people, listening for a few moments before making his move, the mayor stood and spoke from behind a podium, a middle aged man with dark brown hair, pale skin, a rather portly appearance, and wore fine clothing.

"And the next order of business, would be the recent fire that nearly burned down the tavern," The Mayor began, from his spot up among several councilman, Rumple decided that now would be a good time to make himself known.

"While that is truly, truly, fascinating," He said, his voice mocking and whimsical as it spread out throughout the hall, causing the people present to turn their heads in his direction.

"I believe I have a certain issue that needs attention," he said as he walked around to the centre isle and made his way along closer to the front.

"Who are you, why are you interrupting this meeting!" the Mayor said angrily.  
"Reveal yourself!" he demanded as Rumple let out a giggle and slowly reached for his hood, throwing it back to reveal himself to the populace, many gasps and shocked cries filled the air, Rumple looked at them gleefully as one woman fainted at his appearance.

"What? ...Is it my stunning complexion?" he asked sarcastically.

"R-Rumplestiltskin..."The Mayor choked out in fear.

"Yes, that is me," he said a he walked up the stage and stood in front of the now terrified Mayor.

"Now I want to know one thing, and one thing only," He said, his tone turning serious.  
"There was a creature that fled through this town the previous day, I need to know where it went, and I need to know now."

"I-I don't k-know-" The Mayor began only to find his windpipe suddenly constrict as Rumple held out his hand in a grabbing motion.

"You're lying to me" Rumple spat out angrily.  
"I am in no mood for games!" he yelled as he constricted the Mayor's throat tighter, causing him to let out a pained wheeze.

"Now I am going to ask you again, and if you lie to me again, I am going to gut you right here and now and all the people of this rat hole of a town can watch your insides squirt out onto the floor as you die!" he screamed loud enough to everyone present to hear him.

"Now. Where. Did. It. Go?"

"N-North, I-It headed north of here!" the Mayor managed to choke out before he fell to the floor, Rumple releasing his grip as he strode down from the stage and made his way towards the door, people reeling back in fear as he passed.

Rumple let out a scream of anguish as old memories flooded into his mind, shutting his eyes close but only for Amethyst to reopen them with a simple wave of her hand.

"That's enough for now. I can't have you be exhausted when I'm in your head, now can't I? So if you'll excuse me, I'll be playing dress-up with the Princess of Teddy-Bear land and the Duke of Furry Kittens! So I'll be seeing you later, Rum-Rum!" Amethyst exclaimed joyfully, skipping out of the room and locking the door behind her with a spell, leaving an exhausted Rumple behind.

**BREAKLINE**

Wrapping his fingers around the hilt of his blade, the boy twirled the knife around his fingers as if it were a toy. "So what do you want me to do today? Sparring? Speed-training? Hand to hand combat?"

"Today you'll be practicing your knife throwing skills with hitting all the targets set out in front of you," Deathstroke replied, gesturing to the targets that were set up.

"Knife throwing?" The boy parroted, unimpressed and unbelieving. "Why do something so simple when you know I can do way more complicated things?"

"Stop complaining, boy, you should know by now that sharpening your skills, even with the most basic of things are essential to someone of you caliber."

"Was that pun unintentional or did you just magically develop a sense of humor."

"I would really watch my tongue if I were you," Deathstroke warned before turning on his heel and facing the computer screens in front of him. "Save the spunk for the fights, boy. You never know where back talk will get you."

Stopping himself rom rolling his eyes, the boy gripped the knife a little tighter this time before raising his hand and throwing it to the target, hitting the red circle right smack in the middle with ease. "And you say I'm out of practice."

"I didn't say anything about that, boy. You shouldn't put words into my mouth."

"It was implied," the child countered.

"Get back to work," the mercenary warned and this time, the boy didn't reply with a clever comeback and instead grabbed another knife and threw it right at the target once more.

"That good enough for you?" The child asked but he was promptly ignored in favor of Deathstroke turning his attention to the screen in front of him which was displaying a picture of a certain twelve year old.

"Do you know who this is?"

It only took a second, really. The boy had been doing his research for what felt like months by now and he had easily solved the not-so-well-hidden 'secret' identities of everyone on Nightwing's 'team'. Besides, the chestnut-brown hair that fell to her face, that shade of blue that belonged to her eyes, the dimples on the side of her mouth and the same grin on her face told him all that he needed to know. Even with the slightly younger face and different hairstyle, he could tell who exactly the young girl was in a snap of his fingers.

"Selastine Francheska Smitt, born in Coast City but moved with her family to Gotham at age six after her father lost his job. Her parents died in a car crash four years later and Selastine went missing. A few weeks later, she was declared dead."

"I see that you've done your research," the man commented. "But you're missing one very important detail."

"I'm not stupid," the boy said boredly. "I know she's Little Red Riding Hood."

"And yet you didn't go after her when you had the chance and used her as bait to lure in the heroes," the man shook his head in what looked like overly exaggerated theatrical disappointment. "How much of a child could you really be?"

'_Well I spend everyday of my life in this lair so I really don't know how I'm supposed to kidnap someone when you don't even allow me to look out the window_,' the child wanted to say but _this_ alone was torture enough and he didn't want to add on to it. So he settled for a different reply; "You still want me to go after her?" The child questioned like the man belonged in Arkham Asylum along with the other lunatics in bright costumes.

"I didn't say anything about doing it right now, boy. You didn't ask about the date and instead rushed to other less significant things."

At that point, the boy found it very hard not to lash out at the mercenary and poke his other eye out with all his cryptic philosophic answers that were this close to driving him insane.

"What now? Do we play the waiting game again?"

"No," Deathstroke answered and the tiniest bit of a smirk formed under his mask. "Right now, you'll be continuing with your knife throwing practice."

** -To be Continued-**

** Once again, a very special thanks to iamgoku for being continuously supportive and sending me those scenes with Rumple. You're the absolute best xD**

** So there's Chapter 23 for you all and I hope you liked it :3 So in other completely unrelated news, I celebrated my birthday recently and the least I could do was give you guys another chapter so yep, there it was.**

** So yeah...happy birthday to myself, I guess (hooray for surviving another year) and see you guys next chapter.**

** -BirdsSpeedandArrows xx**


	24. Chapter 24

"You know, I always thought that I'd die of old age in my bed after fulfilling my bucket list and leaving this earth peacefully at age eighty-something with five kids and dozens of grandchildren with cats, loads and loads of cats after living life as a hero for years and retiring after saving the world from it's biggest threat yet and then dying at the age of ninety-nine holding my wife's hand and being content with myself and how I lived my life...not here in this crappy excuse of a cell," Isaac sighed, resting his head on the cold hard wall.

"Same here," Green nodded solemnly, her hand wrapped around her bleeding left arm which was only in a makeshift bandage that consisted of a ripped piece of cloth from Lilinette's jacket.

"Don't give me any of that bullshit!" Dan suddenly piped up, arms folded over chest and a fiery look in his eyes.

"Look, I'm sorry," the teen mumbled just a tad loudly enough for everyone to hear him but no one said a word. They just stared at him silently, because although the brunet was a little rough around the edges, Dan was their _teammate_, their _ally, _their _companion_, their _friend_. "But if any of us are planning to do anything like Isaac's extremely detailed plan for the future, then I suggest we get out of this shit-hole."

"He's right," Keiji added in, stopping himself from wincing in pain when he felt his broken ribs protest just from him sitting up from his odd position on the floor. "I can bet you a million dollars that Nightwing and Flash are looking for us right now."

"Normally, I'd say this all sounds a little bit generic and cheesy but we can't do this without each other's help," Calvin added in.

"And you're right about it sounding like something you just made up on the spot on the spot, which it is," Lilinette remarked from her position at the farthest left corner of the cramped cell. "You're indeed making this whole ordeal way more cheesy and cliché than it already is."

"Come on, Nova," Calvin urged, unfamiliar feelings of desperation seeping through his tone of voice. "I know we've had our differences and fights in the past but our _lives_ are on the line here."

A sigh escaped from the young girl and she nodded before raising her hand up to her face and peeling off her mask, the fabric material removing from her skin with little to no effort, making IIeana question to herself as to why none of their opponents had just ripped it off of her face sooner. "It's Lilinette if you will, Lilinette Jaggershaw," she muttered, easing her head and revealing a pair of sharp Jade-green orbs staring back at them.

They all seemed taken-aback at the reveal but it was Green who broke the silence with a smile, a genuine smile that reached her eyes. "Nice to meet you, Lilinette," she said, holding out her hand, her smile only growing wider when the younger girl accepted it without another word.

"IIeana?" Calvin asked hopefully, peering at the dark haired girl who had been awfully quiet ever since they had been shoved into the tiny little cell.

"I've done many wrong things in my past," IIeana informed them vaguely, avoiding their gazes which were all on her. "My_ f-father_," she spit the name out like it was poison. "All that he's forced me to do...I thought that being a hero would be a chance for me to redeem myself. To maybe do something good with my life after all the bad things I have done," she finished with a sigh, staring down at her lap as if it were the most interesting thing the universe had to offer.

"That's really something, IIeana," Calvin said like the big brother-figure that he was. But we're here for you, _really_ we are. If you ever need anything, you know you have us."

"Thank you," Whispered the brunette, her usual stoic expression replaced with a small yet thankful grin. "But I believe that we have to escape this prison before Amethyst Hexx captures any more of us like she has done with Rumple."

"Well don't know shit about this place but I do know one thing," Dan proclaimed. "We've done some pretty badass things as a team and I'm not about to let some prissy princess who can do card tricks with glitter beat us by stuffing us into this cell."

"And just how do you expect us to do that?" Questioned Lilinette. "We don't have any of our weapons and all your powers don't even work because of that witch's magic. It's hopeless."

"Not exactly hopeless," Keiji said, reaching into his shirt pocket and taking out a bright cerulean colored stone that was glowing slightly, illuminating the dark room and making its presence known to all six of them.

"Where the Hell did you get that thing?" Dan asked in wonder and complete awe. "And what exactly is it?"

"Our ticket out of here," Keiji replied, handing the stone over to Green as both IIeana and Isaac helped him to his feet. "I'll explain the details later. But right now, we have to get out of this cell before anyone finds out I have this stone. Then after that, we rescue Rumple and we find our way out of this place."

**BREAKLINE**

"Ohmygodwe'regoingtodiearen'twe?" Flash whisper-rambled, his whole body even vibrating slightly.

"Shut up," Opal turned around to whisper-hiss at Flash, glaring at the speedster viciously. "Are you _trying_ to get us killed?"

Nightwing and Onyx shared a sighing look and the latter went over to soothe his brother's less-than-subtle-and-or-quiet anger issues. "Best try to stay calm, Opal," shrugged the darker haired boy.

"Dude, chill out," Nightwing said with a comforting hand on the other man's shoulder. "You're vibrating."

"If we don't do anything now, then they'll all have the same fate as Mr. Rumplestiltskin!" Opal yelled at them a little louder this time, irritation seeping in is voice and his hands balled up into fists.

In a quick movement, Onyx slapped his hand over his brother's mouth to shut him up before he could catch anyone else's attention with his fucking lion voice.

"Okay, rule number one; there will be _no_ splitting up of any sort, got it?" Red Hood stated, mentally noting to keep an especially observant eye on the twins.

"We're sorry, Mr. Red Hood, but we're afraid that we can't do that," Opal said with his eyes downcast, as if on fucking cue and fucking reading his mind.

Just before Nightwing, Flash or even Little Red could even react (yes, even Flash, because he too, was in a state of shock), Opal pulled out a strange looking object (he seemed to have a lot of those with him) from his pocket and throwing it on the ground, leaving a large cloud of black smoke.

"What. The. Fuck?" Red Hood snarled, mostly to himself in a clear act of frustration once most of the smoke had disappeared. And as they expected, both Onyx and Opal were gone. The anti-hero groaned angrily, fingers itching for his guns that were sitting at his holsters to shoot the two little brats where it hurt the most.

"We have to go find them," Little Red started, getting ready to chase after the two when a firm tug on the hood of her cloak stopped her from going any further. "What was that for, Red?"

"Oh no you're not, kid," The anti-hero shook his head and pulled his protégé back to where she was originally standing. "What did I just say about splitting up?"

"Not to do it?" The twelve year old asked sheepishly, shuffling her boot-covered feet and grinning awkwardly to conceal her embarrassment. "Now what?"

"Then we go on without them, we're here for Wing's sidekicks aren't we?" Red Hood questioned with a small scoff.

"Right," Nightwing said in a taut voice, elbowing his best friend in the gut, hard and making him sputter. "Let's keep moving."

Groaning, the red-head began to rub his side roughly. "You didn't have to elbow me _that_ hard, Wing," he grumbled. "If you _did_ have to, a warning would've been nice."

Looking up at her mentor, Little Red sheepishly tugged at the hem of his leather jacket, making him look down at her in question. "Anything wrong, kid?"

"No, not really," Little Red admitted. "But there's really just one thing I have to tell you."

"And what is that? You got a crush on the twins or something?"

Shaking her head, Little Red's gaze never left the older man's. Blue eyes going right through his helmet and looking him right in the eye. "Those kids you were talking about, they aren't just sidekicks, not even close actually. They're my _friends_."

Taken aback at the reply but not showing it, Red Hood chose instead to ruffle his protégé's hair and smirked underneath his helmet. "I know, now let's go and get them back, kid."

**BREAKLINE**

"Well that took longer than expected," Dan commented as he set Lilinette down on the floor (paying no attention to the furious blush on her face at the implied nudge at her height- or there lack of) as she sent a mini glare at Keiji, being the tall-ass that he was, the bastard just jumped off the tall ledge like it was nothing.

Keiji ignored said mini glare and brushed the dust off his clothing. "Well as people say 'third time's the charm', right?"

Isaac merely shrugged his shoulders in a casual manner once Green had helped him to his feet. "I don't know, dude. Doesn't seem like luck is on our side at this point and time."

"Whatever," Dan huffed impatiently. "We have to get moving."

Calvin frowned at the notion and held Lilinette back with his hand, catching the half-confused, half-irritated face the eight year old made at the action. "No, not yet," Calvin folded his arms over his chest. "It's too risky, we could get fried out there."

"I understand where Calvin's coming from here," Green chirped up, a light blush forming on her face as she did so. "It'll be too risky...we don't know what's out there, guys."

"Well we cannot just sit here and wait for Nightwing to rescue us," Argued Lilinette. "Weapons or no weapons, we have to figure out a plan of attack. I am the leader of The Blurs, and the Blurs never, and I mean, never back down from any fight."

"Arguing will only result in us getting caught again, if not by Amethyst Hexx then maybe by an even greater force," IIeana chimed in, cutting them off. "Besides, none of us are even sure if your powers are now restored now that we're out of there."

"She has a point there, you know," An entirely new voice cut them off, making eight pairs of eyes turn to the direction it came from.

There, standing right near _their_ exit, was a set of boys, they were twins to be exact, identical features minus their hair colors and clothing. "Who are you guys? What are you doing here?"

"We knew we would find you here," Opal said, completely disregarding Isaac's questions and leaning against the wall casually with his foot propped up against the wall, Onyx doing the same. "Now, come with us if you want to live and Ice-Boy?" Opal asked, gesturing to Calvin who pointed at himself with his finger. "Yeah, you, refrain from making anymore stupid Terminator references. It's getting quite old."

**BREAKLINE**

"Selastine Smitt, Daniel Fret, Evelyn Marie 'Green' Richards, IIeana Corvi, Isaac Robinson, Keiji Hunter. All of these children are all so similar. Most- if not all of them are either orphaned, oppressed, sad freaks-in-nature trying to make a difference," Deathstroke said, a single eye piercing into the numerous files scattered all over his large desk.

"Well they do say that you can't be a superhero or super-villain without some kind of psychological trauma or a troubled past involved," Spoke up the child from his place on the floor, his own chess-board in front of him, the tips of his fingers resting on the white ceramic Bishop.

Amused at the reply, Deathstroke quirked an eyebrow. "Oh really? And what do 'they' say about mercenaries or assassins?"

"Steroids," the boy said almost automatically. "Lots and lots of special serums and steroids."

"Witty," Remarked the man aridly.

"Thank you, Deathstroke."

"Well aren't you using your manners today?" Chuckled the mercenary. "Are you sure you're feeling alright today, R?"

"I'm no exception to that steroids-and- serums rule that they have established," R answered in an even tone. "I can't get sick, remember? Those scientists who had experimented on me had made sure of it."

"How could I forget? You're no ordinary child, aren't you, boy?"

"Never have, never will be," R recited like it was a mantra, the single phrase was practically drilled into his head at this point and time. And yet, the words still left a bitter taste in his mouth after he said them, like an itch that couldn't be scratched.

"Good," Deathstroke said in approval, single eye gleaming at the sight of his apprentice- his _masterpiece_. He had taken the small shivering child from that laboratory and transformed him into something much more. He had taken the mere lab rat and molded him into a skilled, technical, one-of-a-kind child assassin. Sure, the heightened strength, speed, stamina and intelligence were injected into the boy's system but it was _he_ who had taken advantage of the boy's abilities and in a way, made him even better. The serums and whatnot flowing through his veins were assets alright, but it was his own training that really strengthened the child, he had turned the scarred child into an assassin. An assassin who, despite his childish habits and less-than-adultlike attitude, had the potential and the skill-set to even take on _Nightwing_.

And right now, it was only a matter of time before the _real_ fun would begin.

** -To Be Continued-**

** Hey guys, sorry for the lack of updates lately but things have been hectic lately and with my less-than-asterous writer's block. Apart from school work, I've been working on my Genderbent Red Hood cosplay for Asia Pop Comic Con this September (so if any of you guys are going, then give me a signal because why not?) And since it's around a quarter finished, I figured that I give you guys an update.**

** I don't really have anything else to say so thanks for everything and drop a review on your way out if you like c:**

** -BirdsSpeedandArrows xx**


	25. Chapter 25

"Orion, old friend! Nice to finally see you again!"

"Chike," the other man greeted in a bored monotone, the smaller girl by his side shuffling quietly with her eyes focused on the floor.

"It's been so long, Orion! You could be such a bum sometimes, you know that! The last time I've heard from you was when you-"

"-Yes," Orion interjected, his hand raised to shut the suited-man up. "Rumplestiltskin is here, is he not?"

For a split second there, Chike's Joker-like smile shifted into a slight frown before it reverted back into his usual excessively cheerful grin. "And who's this darling little thing?" Chike asked, displaying two sets of perfectly white teeth. "I didn't know you could be such a player, Orion."

"This is Pandora," Orion explained, gesturing to the girl beside him. She had long waist-length lavender hair and black lavender-colored eyes. Wearing a blue, plaid blouse, adorned with buttons of various shapes, a large, pink salmon skirt lined with holes of alternating smiling and frowning faces and a pair of white boots.

"Have any of the heroes made their presence known?" Orion inquired.

"The heroes have just arrived with a pair of black and white twins, you should've seen how they disappeared! It was hilarious!" Chike laughed to himself, clutching his middle and slapping his knee as if he had seen the most hilarious thing in the world.

"And you just let them through?" Orion inquired in a questioning tone. "Quite unusual for the very people to do so when they spent some time trying to get them in their cells and now you're letting them be rescued just like that? I always knew you were an odd one, Chike."

"No need for the sassy remarks, Orion-old-buddy!" Beamed the ash-haired man. "We'll all get what we want once this is all over. Fair and square, am I right?"

"Right," Orion said, sharing a look with Pandora before turning to Chike once more. "Now if you don't mind, I'd like to finally meet once more with Amethyst Hexx, I've heard quite good things about her."

**BREAKLINE**

"Hell no!" Dan refused almost instantly, nearly hitting Lilinette in the face with his hands. "We don't even know you!"

"So do we, and yet we're risking our heads to save you," Onyx deadpanned, resting his elbow on his brother's shoulder.

"How do we know that Amethyst Hexx isn't watching us right now?" IIeana inquired, noticing the clear flaw in the twins' proposal.

"We don't," Opal said impassively, as if the choices he and his brother were about to make wouldn't affect anyone's lives whatsoever. "For all we know, she could be watching us right now and we're simply falling into her devious little trap."

"You talk like you know her well," Keiji observed, scrutinizing every inch of the twins carefully to make sure that they didn't pose as a threat.

"Guys," Green spoke up, nibbling on her bottom lip. "I know this sounds crazy but we're gonna have to trust them. Think about it, it's either we take a chance and follow these kids who clearly know what they're doing it we could improv and totally mess things up. I know I'm not exactly the best tactician on the team but I just have a gut feeling that this'll work," she trailed off, eyes looking at anywhere but at her teammates.

"Green," Calvin started, making her slowly look up at him under dark eyelashes. "I have to admit, you _do_ sound totally insane right now but because of the many life lessons I've learned from Alice in Wonderland, I'm gonna say that sometimes, a little madness is good and _right now_, we're fighting for our lives here. You know why? Because sometimes, heroes don't have to be fighting for the entire world. Sometimes, they have to fight for themselves and that's okay because sometimes, you have to be your own hero_. _So what do you guys say?"

The looks on the other youths' faces told him all he needed to know.

"So who did you guys say you were again?" Isaac questioned, running after the two dark haired boys who were stalking off ahead of them at a (surprisingly) fast pace, their shoes clicking against the metal floor in a slight rhythmic pattern.

"If I recall correctly, we didn't say anything about who we are," Opal said boredly, making Dan snort slightly in the background.

"So you're those kinds of kids, aren't you?" Dan rolled his eyes, not missing the look Lilinette threw at him, but choosing to ignore it for the sake that they weren't at each other's throats for once.

"Take a look in the mirror first and then we'll talk," Onyx said without skipping a beat, the corners of his lips rising upwards into the tiniest of smirks at the reactions coming from Calvin, Green, Keiji and Isaac.

"Whatever, let's just get out of here," Opal replied before a sharp chill went up his spine and he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand. An unusual yet powerful magical aura clouding the rest of his senses and hitting him like a ton of bricks.

"Not so fast, little mice!" A dreaded voice spoke happily, violet magic force fields constructing around them, their eyes widening and both Onyx and Opal's voices shrieking at them to run for their goddamn lives.

Amethyst, amused at their lame attempts of escaping her magic twirled her hair with her finger, singing an incantation as she strutted in a supermodel-like cat-walk and taking her sweet time.

It was only when a constructed vine had wrapped itself around Dan's foot had Lilinette quickly grab onto his fingers at a speed that would've made every speedster envious, small fingers clutching tightly to calloused larger ones and two pairs of different shades of green eyes staring into each other's. "We're almost out! Do not dare let go because if you die here, I shall resurrect you from the dead to kill you again, idiot!"

"Go on without me! I'll be fine, I swear!" Dan insisted yet the pads of his fingers still brushing against Lilinette's, the eight year old refusing to retreat her hand.

"Of all the times you choose to be idiotically cliché, you pick the time where we actually have a chance of making it out alive!" Isaac yelled at him, concentrating at his hardest to try to make his powers work.

"Don't throw your life away, you twat!" Lilinette shouted in addition, holding her hand out with Calvin grasping tightly at her boot for support.

"Not happening!" A light girly voice piped up and a violet-colored transparent magical construct appeared before them, forcing the other teens to slacken their grips and shoving them aside, the large gate closing behind them and leaving Dan behind.

An ice-cold chain wrapped itself around Dan's torso, nearly making him lose his breath, his lungs stinging in protest as he whipped his head back to reveal Amethyst Hexx standing behind them, that annoying-as-fuck smirk on her face that Dan had quickly learned to loathe.

"It looks like I caught myself a little birdie!" Amethyst sang though when she caught sight of the dark haired teenager, the traces of a grimace hit her face. "_Well_, not so little aren't you? I had my sights on the Japanese ninja boy, Big-brother Jack Frost, or even

the little girl dressed in black with the spitfire of a personality but I guess this mini Ben Grimm would do," Amethyst sighed, disappointment coating her voice but Dan could see the mirthful malice in the pools of her eyes gleaming even in the dark room.

"Now, I want you to sing for me, okay Danny-bird?" Amethyst beamed and with a wave of her hand, Dan's entire vision grew dark but not before hearing the giggle saying; "Oh and by the way, I would've caught all of you birdies easily but that would've haven't been fun, wouldn't it, Dan-Dan?"

"_Aw come on, Danny. It's not that hard," Miles urged, slapping Dan's shoulder. The two twelve year olds made their way down the packed street. People of all ages had gathered there for the Saturday Morning Market._

"_You wouldn't know! You always have me do it!" Dan retorted as he shoved his way through the crowd. He tightened his grip on the backpack slung over his right shoulder._

_The Hispanic grinned, "That's because you're better at it!"_

_Dan grumbled, "Fine…"_

_The two boys wandered casually over to one of the more crowded stands. Dan walked over to one side while Miles went to the other. They met eyes and Dan gave a small nod. Miles spun around, like he had seen something, his hand smacking into a small crate of cabbages. The crate went tumbling to the floor and the booth's owner, a bigger man with a long scruffy beard, came running over. _

"_Oi!" the man shouted exasperatingly as he ran around the edge of the stand and began picking them up. _

"_I am so sorry, Sir!" Miles said with exaggerated fake guilt._

_Dan glanced nervously at Miles and back at the food in front of him. He quickly reached into a separate crate of apples and began shoving them one at a time into his backpack. He went for the carrots next, taking two bundles and adding them to the four apples. He saw out of the corner of his eye as the man began to stand up and Miles started to retreat into the crowd just as they had planned. Dan grabbed one of the bottles of water that were for sale lastly and jammed it into the bag._

"_You!" the man suddenly shouted, "Stop it! Give me that water!" Dan's eyes widened as the man stumbled at him. He retreated, shoving his way back into the sea of people as the fat man called "Thief! Thief!" after him._

_Dan turned a corner and began descending a fire escape, up onto the roof of an apartment building. Miles was waiting for him at the top. Dan gave a tired smile._

"_Yes!" Miles cheered as Dan sat down next to him on edge of the roof and opened the bag. Dan pulled out the water, took a swig, and handed it to Miles. Miles bit into one of the apples while Dan ate another._

_They sat in silence, looking down into the alley below them, where the fire escape was. They went silent as a woman entered the alley and began unlocking one of the doors with a key from her purse. A man walked up behind her with a knife and demanded her money. It sounded echoed and unclear from where Dan and Miles sat. Neither made a move to try and help her. It wasn't any of their business. They watched as the woman was shoved to the ground. Dan bit into a carrot with a loud snap. The man grabbed the woman roughly, trying to get the purse of her arm. Miles took another drink of water. The man snatched the lady's purse, getting out of the alley quickly. Dan spit an apple seed down into the alley below. Miles grabbed another carrot and the two watched as the woman stood up shakily and tried to regain her composure. _

_Dan and Miles hopped back onto the gravelly rooftop._

"_Where should we stay tonight?" Dan asked. "We're definitely __not__ staying here."_

"_Why? Scared that mugger's gonna get you?" Miles teased with a grin._

"_No, this roof is not comfortable in any way. No mugger's gonna steal my stuff," Dan replied with a scoff. "If he tries then he gets a foot where the sun don't shine."_

_Miles laughed. He picked up the backpack this time, "Well then, we better get moving."_

_Dan nodded. Miles began trotting and Dan kept pace with him. Their trot turned into a jog, and their jog into a run. Soon they were sprinting on the gravel, running towards the edge of the building. They leapt off of it, over the small gap below, and onto the next with a loud 'THUD'. They landed a bit harshly, stumbling a bit before standing up and continuing to run. They repeated the process._

_Trot. Jog. Run. Sprint. Leap. Land. Repeat._

_Soon they reached one of the more expensive buildings. It had a rooftop pool, a canopy with a lounge underneath. Dan and Miles looked at each other and smirked. Miles removed the backpack and opened it up. He pulled out the only other thing, other than the food, occupying the bag: a scratchy rope. He tossed it at Dan, who caught it and ran over to the flat door on the pavement roof flooring that led down into the building. A latch kept it closed. There was a small opening in the latch where a padlock could be inserted but the owners obviously didn't use it._

_Dan slipped the rope through the hole and pulled it so two ends of the rope stuck out on either side. He stood up and pulled both ends, tying them to one of the supports holding up the canopy. He tugged it a few times to make sure it wouldn't open. It was sealed._

_Dan nodded at Miles and Miles grinned, abandoning the backpack, taking off his shirt and sprinting and leaping into the pool. Dan grinned as well. He wasn't in the mood for swimming but this was definitely the nicest place they had scored to stay for the night. He made his way over to the lounge and collapsed onto one of the white cushioned beach lounge chairs. He dozed off almost instantly._

_When he awoke the first thing that Dan saw was Miles' panicked face. _

"_Miles?" he asked drowsily._

_Miles' black hair was sopping wet, plastered to his forehead. Pool water dripped onto the cement roof. Dan sat up but froze when he caught sight of the gun pointed at Miles' face from the roof door. The man holding the gun was half dressed, obviously having just woken up._

"_Turns on," Miles gulped, "This guy has a gun."_

"_Aw crap…" Dan muttered._

"_Put your hands in the air, kids," the man ordered._

_Miles' hands shot up and Dan's hands reluctantly followed. _

_The man climbed out of the hatch onto the roof. Dan now saw that he was only in boxers, nothing else, and Dan's theory had been correct._

"_Stand up and come over by him," the man snapped at Dan._

_Dan nodded, keeping his hands up as he walked over to Miles._

"_You can't shoot a kid," Dan said boldly._

"_Can I and I will. You're both trespassing on my property," spat the gunman._

"_What are you FBI? NCIS? Five-0?" Dan quizzed while Miles stared at him with wide eyes, obviously scared._

"_You wish," replied the man. "I'm not in the legal business."_

"_Ooh, fun," sighed Dan._

"_Get off my property," growled the gunman._

_Miles nodded and turned, walking towards the edge of the roof. He picked up into a trot and then leapt off onto the next building, which was no more than two feet away._

_Dan walked over to pick up his backpack._

"_Leave it," the man stated._

"_What?" Dan demanded. The man stared at him sternly. "Dude, no, I'm not gonna—"_

"_Dan!" Miles warned, "Just leave it!"_

"_No! I worked hard for that!" Dan retorted, reaching down to pick it up. He stood back up, backpack in hand and started putting it on. He turned and sprinted at the edge, leaping into the air._

_Dan didn't have a split second to process the bullet that hit his leg, or the force that shoved him forwards onto the second rooftop. He heard Miles shout but he couldn't move, so he laid stunned on the cement. He blinked a few times, trying to figure out what had just happened. Dan slowly got to his feet, Miles pulling at his arm._

"_Be careful!" Miles shouted frantically. The two ducked behind a ventilation unit. Dan stared at his leg. Why didn't it hurt?_

"_We have to go to a hospital," Miles' hands shook as he spoke, eyes still as wide as saucers._

"_It doesn't hurt," Dan argued, "We don't need a hospital."_

"_You were just shot!" Miles growled, "We're going to a hospital." He began getting Dan to his feet, ready to tug him to the next roof. Miles was about the same muscularity as him, so Dan didn't doubt he could accomplish the task._

"_Hang on!" Dan ordered, shoving against Miles' hands. "Let me see."_

_He tugged at his pants, pulling the pant leg up and looking at the injury. Both boys eyes widened when they discovered his skin was shades of gray, solid, like stone. Dan didn't get a minute's warning before Miles was sprinting away in panic, shouting "Freak!"_

_ "_Hmmm_...interesting, _not as interesting as lil' old Rumple's of course but I guess they'll do," Amethyst said, pressing a small kiss on the teen's forehead, watching as his eyes began to droop once more.

_Dan grumbled as the cop shoved his shoulder. _"_Fuck off," the seventeen year old spat at the officer. _

_The officer gave an annoyed look, "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used agains—"_

"_Yea, you mentioned that, thanks," Dan interrupted._

_The cop shoved him again, bringing him into the prison cafeteria, where dozens of eyes came to him. The stupid collar on his neck forbids him from using his powers but that didn't mean Dan couldn't snap a few necks if he put his mind to it._

_Dan was released as the cop closed the metal barred door behind him. He wasn't hungry so instead he wandered over to a table and ordered a smaller prisoner to move, just to make a show. Did he want attention? No. But when you're in juvie it's all about who's toughest and who's not. He's tough. Young, yes. But tough. And he made sure everyone knew it._

_He saw people look at him as he began carving into the plastic table with his nail in boredom. He knew why. Everyone here had a different story about him. "The guy who can turn his fists to stone," "The kid who murdered a guy with his hands," "The teenager who can turn his skin to bricks." It varied. Dan didn't really care what they thought, like he said, he didn't crave attention. But he had to admit, when he realized the lunchroom's occupants were no longer looking at him he was a bit surprised. He turned to where they were looking._

_And there, standing in the doorway, was Nightwing. The Nightwing._

A gasp of air escaped the teen's throat and the familiar taste of blood made its way to his mouth. Fuck.

"Like I said to Rumple earlier, there's no point in struggling. The only way to escape me is by dying and I'm very much sure that your time in the afterlife will be just as torturous as this one, Danny-bird!" The brunette hummed and this time, Dan didn't bother resisting.

**BREAKLINE**

"We're getting nowhere! This whole place is practically a maze!" Flash exclaimed as he zipped back and forth down their passageway in a streak of red and gold. "Makes me wonder how the Hell those two brats found their way out of here," he sighed.

"Then we split up," Red Hood piped up. "Doesn't look like we have any other choice here unless any of you are interested in going in circles for the next thirty years of your lives."

"As much as I don't want to do this, he's right," Nightwing frowned thoughtfully, gloved fingers running through his messy black hair. "We're getting nowhere."

"Then Nightwing, Red and I go right and Flash'll go left," Red Hood announced.

"Wait- what? Why can't Wing and I stay together and you and Little Red do whatever you guys do?" Flash rambled off in what sounded like a melange of surprise and mini outrage.

"Dude," Nightwing stared at him looking like a kicked-puppy. "Even with the three of us together, we won't nearly cover enough perimeter to look for them so just keep your communicator on and we'll keep in contact, okay?"

"O-Okay, Night, whatever you say, s-sorry about that, of course!" Flash quickly tried to regain his composure with a mock salute and a small smile before zipping off once more in a flash.

"He likes you," Little Red said after the speedster was out of ear-shot, earning herself a raised eyebrow and what sounded like a cross between a scoff and a snicker from both former Robins.

"Whatever you say, Red," Nightwing shook his head with a chuckle.

"And I thought you were supposed to be the detective," Sel replied, pouting slightly as she trailed after Red Hood, tugging on the hem of his leather jacket for support.

Before Jason could say something to add on to the ever-so-lovely conversation, an excessively happy, unfamiliar voice interrupted him before he could have the chance to open his mouth; "Well, well, well, look who we have over here. We got two former little birds and a Little Red Riding Hood!"

Little Red suddenly collapsed to the ground with a little twitch, feeling like most of the oxygen in her body has left her lungs, masked blue eyes blurry and vision clouded.

"Kid!" Red Hood grabbed his protégé by her arms, holding her unconscious form close to him as he stood up in a defensive stance.

"Flash? Flash? Do you hear me, Flash?" Nightwing spoke into his communicator only to receive full-on static on the other end.

"It's magic, there are no laws of physics involved," Added in another voice, this one in a light monotone. "Don't bother trying to contact your friend, hero, the second he left your sight, we captured him as well."

Before any of the three could take any further action, Red Hood felt goosebumps prickle all over his skin, his feet had suddenly felt stuck to the ground, knees shaky and failing on him completely, sending him to the floor with Little Red still unconscious in his arms. "Dammnit! They have fucking magic with them, Wing! We-" he didn't get to conclude his sentence when a strong wave of heat invaded his body and for a while there, it felt like he was in the warehouse again, his whole body feeling numb that it wasn't even painful anymore.

**The beautiful flashback scenes were written by the lovely AsgardianGrizzly and I love them so much for it :D Leave a review on you way out if you want, it really motivates me to write xD**

**-BirdsSpeedandArrows xx**


	26. IMPORTANT NOTE

**Discontinued**

** Hey guys, I know it's been a while since I last updated and I'm really really sorry for not being able to deliver but it has come to my attention that due to lots and lots of work and interventions coming from my personal life, and having so little inspiration to write, I'm afraid I'm going to have to discontinue this story.**

** Unfortunately, it seems like I won't be able to continue this fic, let alone finish it so I'm afraid that I'm going to discontinue it for the time being. Once again, I'm really sorry for disappointing you all but I feel as if it would be better to end this on a good note rather than having to give you all short, rushed and crappy chapters and watch this thing fall apart all on its own.**

**One day, I might obtain inspiration and pick up from where I ended but for now, I'm leaving this fic as is and I do hope you understand.**

** But more importantly, I would like to thank all of you for sticking by me for so long and being patient with me and for all your support, I really do appreciate it.**

** I'd like to especially thank the lovely AsgardianGrizzly, iamgoku, Daughter of the Mist, Roy's lost arm and Kara Zor-El Girl, you guys have kept me motivated and seeing your kind words really do make my day. I can't thank you lovelies enough for all that you've done :) ****Wish you all the best✨**

** -BirdsSpeedandArrows xx❤️**


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